


Marching On

by Dyde21



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, High School, Mortal!AU, Punk!Percy - Freeform, Slow Burn, marchingband!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2020-11-01 13:36:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20816015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dyde21/pseuds/Dyde21
Summary: Percy's lost his last chance. After nearly being arrested again, his mom no longer gives him a choice. He has to join an extracurricular activity to try and stay out of trouble, before he ends up in jail. With his best friend Piper's advice, he gets forced into joining Band his junior year of highschool. He's definitely not looking forward to hanging out with a "bunch of dorks." But he slowly starts to realize he might be joining something bigger than himself.





	1. The Ultimatum

**Author's Note:**

> I know I have a lot of AU's going right now, but I got really inspired for this piece and wanted to put it out there! If there's interest please let me know and I'll add more this! :D

“No way. I’m not doing that shit.” Percy snapped, crossing his arms defiantly. “I get I screwed up, but I’ll be fine.”  
“Percy, this isn’t up for discussion. I told you last time you had one more chance, and you blew it.” Sally said, her voice steely. Percy winced slightly. He hated seeing his mom upset at him. But she was going to ruin the rest of his highschool life just because he got in a little trouble.  
“I know… but this isn’t going to fix it.”  
“You’re not going to talk your way out of it this time, Percy.”  
“But-”  
“PERCY!” Sally snapped, making the room go dead quiet. Even Percy was disarmed. His mom almost never shouted at him. He actually felt tears threaten the corner of his eyes as he felt a fresh wave of guilt and self-loathing. “It’s decided. You’re going to join band. You need an outlet, some activity to keep you busy. I’ve tried to give you the freedom to find one, but you’ve blown too many chances. I know it’s not your first choice, but I’m not letting you end up in jail! I don’t know what else to do.”  
Percy stayed quiet, unable to meet his mom’s eyes. He didn’t want to end up in jail either. He didn’t want to screw up. Things just kept… going wrong.  
Piper slowly reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, speaking up for the first time in a while.  
“Percy, I know you think it’s lame. I promise you it’s not that bad. You liked being a drummer in that band, I know you’ll find your own way to have fun. I know you better than yourself, trust me.” She said gently.  
Glancing up at her, Percy still felt flickers of defiance in him. He was still kind of mad at her for this whole situation.  
He wasn’t stupid, he knew his path was headed to destruction, but he was just trying to have fun and escape his problems. He knew his friends weren’t exactly the best group of people, but they were fun. He didn’t drink like they did, and he didn’t smoke. He just liked skateboarding with them and going to concerts. The cops busting them trying to sneak into a bar to see a music had ended up with him getting a ride back to his mother and the cop warning him that he wasn’t getting another chance. That next time he’d end up in jail for a night.  
Sally had just sent him to his room. So when Piper suddenly cornered him with his mom when he got back from school for some kind of bullshit intervention, he wasn’t able to escape.  
Still, seeing his mom on the verge of tears and the hurt look in Piper’s eyes was weighing him down. He knew they were right. He was just wrong and stubborn, like usual.  
With a sigh, he sat down on the sofa, dropping his head into his hands. “Fine. Okay? Fine. I’ll join band.” He muttered  
“Thank you Percy. I’m not asking you to love it, or be all about it. Just… give it an honest try. Please. For me.” Sally said, walking over and kneeling down so she was eye level with him. Just like she used to do when he was a kid. Instead of feeling annoyed at being talked down to, it just filled him with warm memories and he smiled softly at her.  
“I can do that, at least.”  
Sally grinned and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you.” She stood up a moment later. “I’m going to make us all some food.” She declared, heading to the kitchen with a passing glance at Piper.  
Piper just walked over, plopping on the couch next to him and putting her feet up on the table. “You’ll love the drums, and the music is better than you think.”  
Leaning back, he swung and hit her with a pillow. “I’m still kinda mad at you for turning on me. You’re supposed to be on my side, not teaming up on me with my mom.”  
His best friend raised an eyebrow, unamused. “You know I wouldn’t betray you. But this is serious Percy. You’ve been in a bad rut lately. I know you’re not dumb, and you just keep falling into bad situations, but I’m not going to let you screw up your future if I can help it. You’re my best friend, and I’ll do whatever it takes to help you out. Even if that means telling you you’re being a dumbass.” She countered.  
Percy listened to her carefully. Piper really had been there for him since they were kids and bumped into each other in the skatepark. She helped him get through the years with Paul, and even when he kept screwing up she always stayed at this side, and at times set him straight. Like she was doing now.  
Letting out another sigh, he lightly bumped her legs. “You’re right. Thank you, again. You really are the best friend I could have asked for. If you’re in band, I guess it can’t be that lame.”  
Piper beamed at his words, knowing him well enough to actually see how grateful he was. “I wouldn’t have stuck with it for two years if I didn’t love it. You know that. It’s really fun. Shame the band lost so many people last year to graduation so we’re going to have a pretty fresh group this year for marching band.”  
Percy internally groaned at the thought of marching band. Marching in ugly school uniforms, blasting loud random music hardly sounded fun. Sure he had gone to a few football games the past two years, mostly because someone’s boyfriend would be on the team or the one time each year he promised to go to see the show Piper was performing.  
Piper got her usual mischievous grin. “I can’t wait to see in you in the uniform. I’m sure you’ll look all cute and fancy.” She teased, pinching his cheek.  
“I’ll be sure to take plenty of photos.” His mom joined in as she walked back into the room with some sandwiches and chips for them.  
Percy glared at his mom. “I thought you were trying to convince me to do it.”  
Sally just laughed, going to get him a soda before giving one to him and PIper. “You already promised. No takesy-backseys.” She sing-songed. As much as Percy wanted to be annoyed, he could only smile at her. He pointedly ignored Piper smiling at him, she often remarked that she loved that he still had a soft spot for his mom.  
“My life is over next week.” He complained, before digging into his sandwich happily.  
“Not your life, just your social life.” Piper teased, nudging him in the side. “But I’ll be there with you, so we’ll be together like always. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone. Some of those band girls are pretty cute.” She teased with a wink.  
Sally perked up. “Oh I hope so.”  
Percy’s ears burned red as he nudged his friend back a little harder. “Shut up. I could never fall for a band geek.” He countered, before grabbing the remote and started to flip through the channels.  
Eventually he stumbled across a disney movie playing and they all fell back into a comfortable groove, the tense conversation behind them. 

XxXxXxXxX

Percy stood outside of the large door that lead directly into the band room from outside. “I don’t want to go in there.” He muttered, glancing towards the street where he knew he could probably make a run from it.  
Piper shifted in front of him, giving him a glare that dared him to try it. “You’ve been in there before, it’s not a big deal.”  
“Like twice, just to pick you up. It was always loud and obnoxious in there.”  
“So you’ll fit right in.” Piper countered, opening the door and literally shoving him through.  
Percy stumbled forward, not expecting how determined Piper had been. Catching his balance, he turned back to glare at Piper who was just standing in front of the door, arms crossed and smirking at him. “See, not so bad!” She teased, before patting him on the back and leading him to a seat off to the side. Feeling awkward and out of place, he pulled out his phone and tried to busy himself with it, desperate to avoid interaction with anyone else.  
“Oh shoot, it’s Ashe. I haven’t seen her all summer, I’ll be right back.” Piper said standing up. “Don’t get into a fight while I’m gone, please.”  
“Piper, don’t you dar-” But she was already gone, talking to some girl on the other side of the room.  
Doing his best to put on his “don’t mess with me face” he hoped everyone would just stay away from him till she got back. He was usually pretty good at pissing people off/scaring them so surely it wouldn’t be too hard to intimidate some band nerds.  
“Hey there, you must be new here.” Percy looked up surprised and annoyed that someone was already bothering him. He wasn’t here to make friends, just to make his mom happy and stay out of troubl-  
A blonde girl was standing in front of him, hand on her hip and she smiled down at him. Her hair was blonde and wavy, and her gray eyes were intimidating. For a moment he forgot that he was supposed to be trying to scare people off. Piper hadn’t mentioned there was a girl this hot in band. Seeing her raise an eyebrow, he realized he still hadn’t answered her.  
“Uh yeah. I’m kinda being forced to join, so I’m new here. Who are you?” He asked, his voice less intimidating than he meant it, still surprised by how cute she was.  
“Forced to join?” The girl asked. Percy figured she’d start prying into his life, so he was ready to to shut her down but she just nodded. “Fair enough. Well I’m Annabeth. Drum Major, and kind of a teacher’s assistant. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. It’s my job to make sure the band runs smoothly.” She continued, offering her hand.  
“Percy.” Replied, noticing how firm her handshake was.  
She gave him a small wave, before heading over to some other students, starting to talk with them. Not long after PIper sat down next to him. “I see you met Annabeth.”  
Nodding, Percy just glanced over at his friend. “She just waltzed over and started talking to me. I thought band kids were supposed to be awkward and nerdy. Not… hot and intimidating.”  
Piper rolled her eyes. “There’s no such thing as a “band kid”. There are plenty of different types of people, we just play music together. Annabeth pretty much helps Chiron run things around here. Don’t think your tough guy act will work on her, she doesn’t really take shit from anyone.” Piper explained. “You should hear her on marimba though, she’s incredible.”  
Rolling his eyes, Percy scooted lower in his seat. “No one is “incredible” on marimba, this isn’t a disney soundtrack. It’s just a marimba.”  
Piper glared at her best friend, punching him in the leg none to gently.  
“I’m serious, quit shitting on everything before we even start class. I know we’re dragging you here, but if you give it a chance it won’t be as bad as fighting it every step of the way.”  
Glancing back at his phone, Percy stayed quiet. He knew she was probably right, but he wasn’t exactly in the mood to admit that at the moment.  
His eyes glanced as another guy entered the room, seeming just as awkward as Percy felt. It was clearly that dudes first time here as well. He snuck his way to the back of the classroom, sitting in a chair alone, as far from everyone else as he could be. He kept glancing around, like he was expecting to get in trouble.  
For a moment, Percy realized he was lucky to have Piper here. He could have been forced into an awkward first day with no one at his side, but instead he still had his best friend at his side even when he was being a stubborn ass.  
Glancing over, he nudged Piper’s leg gently. She looked back at him, and he could tell she was still mildly annoyed with him.  
“Hey, I’m sorry. For real, okay? I’ll give it a chance today at least. Thanks for being here.”  
Piper perked up at the words. “No problem. I told you, I’m here with you.”  
Glancing back at the kid, Percy saw the girl Piper had went to talk to earlier was sitting in front of him on the chair backwards, eagerly chatting him up. It was clear the guy was still uncomfortable and had no idea who that girl was, but she seemed to be slowly reeling him into a conversation despite his nerves.  
Piper followed his gaze.  
“Ah. That’s Ashe. She plays violin in the morning, and trumpet in wind ensemble. Dunno the guy, he’s probably new. Ashe can’t leave people like that alone though, if I wasn’t with you she’d probably have chatted you up to make you feel welcome.” She explained.  
“Hey Piper.” They both turned around to see a tall blonde guy standing with a bag over his shoulder.  
“Oh… uh… hey Jason.” She said, brushing some hair behind her ear.  
This definitely caused Percy to raise an eyebrow. So this was Jason. He had heard about him quite a bit before from Piper. Something about a “hot blonde dude.” in band. But she hadn’t gone out with him, so he hadn’t bothered to check him out yet.  
“This is Percy.” She offered, nudging Percy’s side.  
Jason offered a hand and Percy stood up to shake it.  
“Sup, dude.” Was all Percy said, returning Jason’s strong handshake with one of his own.  
“I’ve heard a lot about you.” Jason offered. “Didn’t expect to see you in band.”  
Percy glanced over at Piper, who was squirming mildly uncomfortably in the situation. Which pettily gave Percy a small sense of joy. “I normally wouldn’t be. But things happened.” He replied with a shrug. “I’ve heard about you from her too.” He offered, smirking over at Piper who looked like she was going to murder him in his sleep.  
Jason glanced between them, clearly not quite sure of what message they seemed to be sending to each other. He gently patted the side of Percy’s arm. “Still man, it’s good to have you here, if you’re half as cool as Piper says you are. I’m sure you’ll get this a ton of times today, but if you need anything, let me know.”  
Percy nodded. “Thanks.”  
He gave one last smile to Piper before he moved off to chat with Annabeth.  
“He seems nice.” He offered, unable to stop the grin on his face.  
Piper glared at him. “You do know I know where you sleep right? Like, I could kill you since you don’t wake up till like 1 on the weekends. Your mom would even let me in the door to do it.”  
This earned a genuine laugh from Percy, as he leaned back fully relaxed for the first time since he entered the room.  
Despite herself, Piper started laughing too.  
“Perseus Jackson.” An older voice called out, making them all turn around.  
An older man, the kind of person who’s age seemed to be a mystery, was holding a piece of paper and was scanning the room.  
Piper nudged his side. “That’s Chiron, the teacher. Go talk to him, he’s nice.”  
Standing up kind of awkwardly he made his way over, ignoring some of the whispers of other students. Most of them didn’t particularly care, but some also recognized his name. Over the past two years, some rumors had gone around about him. He was sure his reputation precedes him. Most of them weren’t true, or just out-of-context stories that made things seemed worse than they were.  
The older man stood there, smiling patiently. “Welcome, Perseus. This way please.”  
“It’s Percy.” He replied, trying to keep his tone relatively polite. He hated being called his first name. It felt too formal.  
“Right, I apologize. Now, take a seat.”  
He said as he gestured towards a seat in a small office. He closed the door behind them, sitting on the other side.  
“Now I received a call the other day from your mother explaining the… circumstances.”  
Percy tensed up, feeling a flush of anger and embarrassment. His mom seriously called his new teacher?  
Chiron hardly seemed phased by his sudden tension.  
“To be frank, I don’t care what you’ve done in the past or why you’re here. You’re one of my students now, and that means you’re a part of the family.”  
Percy scoffed at that, it sounded like cliche bullcrap.  
Chiron raised an eye but continued. “Even if you don’t see it that way, it’s true. There are many students in this group that take band very seriously, and as long as you’re here, that means they will care for you too. Whether you like it or not.”  
Shiting slightly at the words, Percy couldn’t really think of anything to say, sassy or otherwise.  
“Now I don’t expect you to fall in love with band when your hand is being forced. All I ask is that you show it some respect. Not because I’m asking you too, but because there are other students here who love it, and others who are just trying to make the best out of their time here. Is that fair to you?”  
He asked patiently. Percy had to admit he was a bit off guard. He was used to being talked down to by adults. Being told what he needed to do, why he was screwing up. As if he didn’t already know. But Chiron was different. He was talking to him with respect.  
Before he really thought about it, Percy was nodding. “Fine.”  
Chiron beamed like he had given him the best news of his week. “Thank you, my boy. Now that that’s aside, the other reason I called you aside is simple. What musical experience do you have?”  
Tugging at the hem of his beanie, Percy shrugged. “Not much. I was a drummer for a band for a few years before he kinda stopped. Never read music or anything, just kind of went with the flow.”  
Chiron nodded. “That’s good. That means you probably have a solid rhythm. I’m sure you’ll fit in just fine in percussion. Normally it wouldn’t be much of a deal, but due to the lateness of your joining, and that marching band is usually reserved for students on their second year of band at least, things are a bit tricky. Due to the higher strain of marching and playing. However, your mother was quite insistent, and assured me that you would do better with Ms. McLean in the class.”  
Percy wasn’t sure if he was still embarrassed his mom talked to his teacher, or grateful she was still trying to keep him with Piper. “I’ll be fine.” He muttered out of reflex.  
“I’m sure.” Chiron said dryly, but his warm smile showed he was merely amused.  
“Would you mind playing a little for me? It really will help me get a better grasp of you. After all, music theory, while fundamentally invaluable, will only take you so far. I’m sure you’ll agree, fancy theories only get you so far when it’s time to sit down and play.”  
The corner of his mouth quirked upwards. It seemed at least his music teacher wasn’t going to be some stuff old guy who yelled at them about scales the entire time. “For sure, on stage they don’t care how much you studied, only how well you can play.”  
“Exactly, now then. Shall we?” He said, standing up and gesturing him out of the room.  
Percy tugged his beanie a little farther down but followed him out.  
He was lead to the back corner of the room where a drum set was set up next to a piano.  
Pausing, Percy looked around. “Right now?”  
A wry smile crossed Chiron’s lips. “I never expected you to be performance shy.”  
Despite himself, Percy prickled at the challenge. “I just didn’t want to get yelled at for the noise.”  
Chiron laughed at the remark. “Drums aren’t the only loud instrument out there, and you’ll see we make plenty of noise, and not all of it pleasant.” He said with a laugh.  
Pausing, Percy looked around. “I don’t have my sticks with me…”  
“Here, you can use mine. The spares we have kinda suck.” A voice cut in.  
Looking up, he saw the guy from earlier, Jason, holding out a pair of drumsticks.  
Percy looked at them for a moment, before nodding. “Thanks.”  
Percy sat down as he saw Piper approaching, a grin on her face. “Well this isn’t something I’ve heard in a while. I wonder if you’ll still suck.” She said, sticking her tongue out.  
Rolling his eyes at her, he went back to adjusting the different parts to be a feel a bit more natural for him. “You hung out at band practice a lot for someone who thinks I suck.”  
Piper leaned against the piano until Chiron glared at her and she moved away from it to lean against the wall, looking apologetic. “You still sucked. But you’re my friend so I had to deal with.” She countered.  
Percy just snickered. “Well it’s been a while but I dunno. I think I’ll still manage.”  
He hesitated for a moment, seeing a bunch of the eyes in the room now on him as they saw the new kid sitting down at the drumset with people gathered around. Even that hot blonde was now watching him curiously.  
He hesitated, not sure what to play. He usually was with a band when he played.  
“Here.” Piper said, stepping over and handing him an earbud. It was blaring Holiday by Green Day. He shot her a grateful look, glad he had at least something to stick to.  
Chiron gave Piper a curious glance, but she shrugged. “It’s easier if he has something to play off to start.”  
Chiron just nodded, trusting her word.  
Percy started playing, and he could feel the whole room suddenly acutely aware of the loud noise he was making. He was a bit shaky, but muscle memory was a gift. He had played the song so many times, he was transitioning from the different patterns to the different fills without much trouble.  
Chiron merely listened, tapping his foot along with the song, watching him carefully.  
Percy closed his eyes as he tried to focus on the music, feeling a familiar ache in his out of practice muscles as he tried to keep up with the song, not screwing up the fills when he needed to put one in.  
Around him, Annabeth seemed impressed, Piper was grinning and mouthing the words to the song, and Jason looked approving. Ashe was off to the side, looking stumped as if she couldn’t recognize the song. Piper mouthed the name to her and her eyes lit up, before she started singing along.  
For a few moments, Percy felt like all his problems were gone. He was back with his friends, playing in their garage, making plenty of noise and rocking out. Eventually the song ended and he took out the earbud, setting down the drumsticks and looking around feeling a bit self conscious.  
Piper was grinning ear to ear at him. There was some light applause before Piper walked over and clasped him on the back, before giving him a hug from the side. “I missed seeing you play music.” She confessed in a disarmingly honest tone. Percy wanted to press her about it, but they were still in class after all. That could wait.  
Jason walked over and he handed him back his sticks. “Thanks.”  
“Not bad, man. I could hear exactly where you were the song and you didn’t really speed up much.” Jason offered, glancing at Chiron.  
Chiron nodded. “It was very good. You definitely have a good rhythm, and you have the spirit of a drummer for sure.” He explained. “Like Jason said, you only sped up a little as you went on. But then again, if you didn’t rush the song while playing the drums I’d be a little worried.”  
“Hey!” Annabeth and Jason said definitely at the same time.  
The rest of the class laughed and Percy glanced over to Piper. “Percussionists can and will always increase the tempo of every song, whether they want to or not.”  
He glanced over at Annabeth, but she just defiantly looked over to the side. “Sometimes…”  
Standing up, Percy laughed. Okay, so band kids could be a little fun at least.  
“That’s enough for now Percy.” Chiron offered before turning to Annabeth. “One more student I would like to talk to then we’ll start.”  
“Mr. Glacias, would you mind coming with me?”  
The boy who had entered alone, and was still mostly alone since Ashe had left was staring like a deer in the headlights. “Uh… yeah. No problem, sir.”  
He followed him back into the room much like Percy had while Percy took a seat again.  
Piper was at his side, still grinning at him. “You did well for being so rusty.”  
Shrugging, Percy couldn’t fight the prideful smirk on his face. “You chose a good song. I would have floundered if you hadn’t helped me out.”  
“You really did do well.” Annabeth said, sitting on the seat in front of him, leaning against the back of it. “Do you know any theory?”  
His smile faltered and he looked away. “Not really.”  
Annabeth shrugged. “Not a huge deal. Neither does Piper.”  
“Screw you Chase, I know plenty.”  
“Bite me, McLean.” Annabeth countered, grinning at his best friend.  
“But for real, no one starts out knowing. You’ll have to study quite a bit to catch up, but a lot of percussion isn’t too heavy on it. Mallets will just be difficult for you for a while. Jason and I can cover them while you learn.  
He tried to hide his groan at the word study, but judging by Annabeth’s amused smile he didn’t do a good job. “I take it you aren’t fond of studying. If you get stuck, let me know and I can help you. I’m pretty good at it and I’ve taught others before so I’m sure I could help a little.”  
Percy nodded, relieved. “I may take you up on that offer.”  
Another girl walked over. “Hey, Annabeth. Did you recognize that guy’s last name? It sounds familiar…”  
Annabeth shrugged. “I don’t think I’ve heard it. Maybe it’s a sports thing? Oh, and this is Reyna, Percy.” Annabeth introduced.  
Percy looked over to the one woman who looked even more intimidating than Annabeth did. She shifted her gaze to him before smiling gently. “Good job on the drums. Green Day was a good choice. I’m the other Drum Major with Annabeth, and I’ve been here since freshman year too so if you have a problem, let me know.” She explained, before they all saw Chiron leave the office again with that guy from earlier. He once again moved over to the corner and Percy’s eyebrows raised. Was that quiet kid really a drummer too?  
Instead of the set though, he moved over to the piano.  
This time Ashe was right against the piano, clearly interested in whatever he was about to play. He looked even more nervous than Percy had about being put on the spot to play. Percy saw him glance up at Ashe, then nod and start playing.  
Immediately Percy’s Jaw dropped. The tune vaguely sounded familiar, but it was just impressive. Even Piper looked impressed. “Isn’t that like… Mozart?” She asked, looking over at Annabeth.  
Annabeth nodded, her eyes still watching the piano carefully. “Mozart’s Piano Sonata Number 16, I think.”  
Percy was impressed. His fingers were moving fast in a well practiced way. Eventually he trailed off, looking up at Chiron.  
There was another small applause for him, like Percy. “Very well done, Tyler. You might be the best at Piano we have this year.” He said, glancing over at Annabeth who laughed. “I can’t do that.” She said, scoffing. “May I ask you to play something perhaps a little faster? A little less rehearsed. I only ask because a half-time performance is different from a recital.”  
Tyler nodded, thinking for a moment. He glanced around the room, before his eyes met Percy’s for a moment.  
He fiddled with a few chords for a moment, as if working something out in his head. Then he slowly started playing a chord progression that sounded familiar. After a moment it dawned on him as Percy and Piper looked at each other. “Is that?” He asked.  
“I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies…” Piper sang in time. “He’s playing Holiday too.” She said incredulously.  
Percy just laugh, grinning at the guy. “I’ve never heard this on piano before, that’s actually kinda dope.”  
The guy just grinned, continuing to play a bit before trailing off.”  
Chiron nodded. “It seems you can play by ear pretty well and have a fundamental understanding of chords. I noticed you were sticking to a scale. Thank you T-”  
“Hold on.” The girl named Ashe cut in, leaning on the piano to look at him. “Play something you enjoy.”  
He looked up, surprised. “What?” He asked, clearly caught off guard. “Mozart was beautiful but clearly rehearsed. Holiday was copying Percy’s song. What do you like to play? Not to perform for a teacher or class.”  
“Ashe, I don’t think you should pressure him.” Chiron cut in, his voice gently warning her.  
Ashe flinched slightly, but continued to look at Tyler.  
“There she goes again.” Annabeth muttered, rolling her eyes. “She gets an idea in her head and focuses on it.”  
“Like you’re one to talk.” Jason said, sitting next to her.  
“Watch it Jason.” She threatened, swatting his arm.  
“Percy was clearly having a blast while he played. I know you love the piano. I- We wanna see what the piano is to you. You already passed the audition, so now just play for us.” Ashe continued, clearly provoking him.  
Chiron had a small frown on his face, but was staying silent to see how the boy responded.  
Percy saw him sit up a little straighter, his eyes closing for a moment and Percy felt a slight tension in the air as everyone wondered what he would play next.  
He staggered the first notes of the chord slightly and a chill went down Percy’s spine.  
He continued through some chords and it dawned on Percy what song it was.  
“Wise men say, only fools rush in.  
But I can’t help falling in love with you.”  
A female voice cut in in time. Her voice was enchanting and he looked over to see Ashe singing.  
“Shall I stay, would it be a sin?” She continued to sing.  
Tyler looked surprised to see her singing, but a massive smile crept across his face as they faced each other, in their duet.  
Percy glanced over to Annabeth, and he saw her entranced by the song, all the usual edge to her lost as she just looked gently at the piano. Percy realized she was incredibly beautiful in that moment. Her eyes shifted over and met his, and she offered him a small smile that made his chest feel warm.  
Embarrassed he looked over and saw Piper glancing over at Jason and they both seemed to be blushing.  
Eventually the rather short song ended, and Tyler ended with a few more chords.  
There was a beat, before a loud round of applause broke out, even Chiron clapping slightly.  
Ashe was just standing there, still staring at him for a few more moments before she must have caught herself. “That… was good. That was what I wanted to hear.” She said, her previous confidence gone. She quickly turned away, and hurried to the other side of Annabeth, and plopped down in a seat, covering her face with her hands. Percy noticed her ears and the back of her neck were red.  
“Well that’s enough fun for now. Now if everyone will find a seat, I’ll go over the syllabus for this class.”  
Tyler moved to a seat near the back of the classroom, still alone until Jason moved over next to him after seeing Ashe was still apparently a blushing mess and he didn’t want to leave the guy alone.  
Chiron’s explanation had been rather brief, but outlined the basics of their schedule, leading up to their first marching band performance and the goals for the season.  
“I know I left some gaps, but we’ll explain more as it becomes relevant. For now, everyone should work on making sure they have access to their instruments, or filling out the paperwork to rent one of ours. Also the paperwork to ensure we have permission to transport you for competitions. As well as working on the fee. Now though, you’re dismissed and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”  
Percy put his papers away into his binder, texting his mom that he had papers for her to sign because he knew he was going to forget it.  
He glanced over, seeing Piper chatting with Jason and Percy laughed to himself. She was brushing her hair back behind her ear, and shifting her weight a lot. Exactly how she looked when flirting with someone.  
Turning his attention back as he waited for her, he saw Ashe finally approaching Tyler again.  
“Sorry for singing during your song.” She confessed, not meeting his eyes for more than a moment.  
Tyler shook his head. “No! Thank you, I mean. Your voice is very pretty. It was nice to have someone sing along.”  
Ashe nodded. “Well, thank you and sorry for pressuring you. I knew you had even more beautiful playing hidden and I was greedy and wanted to hear it. Thank you for indulging me. I’ll see you around, okay?” She asked, glancing back at him again.  
Tyler nodded. “Yeah… uh… that’d be cool.”  
She excused herself and hurried away.  
Piper came back a moment later and Percy smirked. “Did you get his number?”  
Punching his arm, Piper huffed. “Shut up. Let’s go. Besides, I got it last year.”  
She offered, laughing at Percy’s shocked look as she started walking to her car.  
They climbed in and Piper was still snickering. “It was at the end of the year last year. I asked on the last day so if he said no I could avoid him for a few months. It’s just as friends. It’s no big deal.”  
“For now.” Percy countered.  
Shrugging, Piper started her car. “For now. But enough about that, how was band?”  
Percy leaned back in her seat, thinking about the whole experience. “It was… better than I thought. Chiron seems cool. People really like music there, and I like their passion. I’m still not convinced that the classes wont suck and I’m not excited for theory, whatever that really is. But… it could be worse. It still beats math and stuff.  
Piper was beaming at him like a proud mom. She reached over, and tousled his hair. “Thank you for giving it a shot. Seriously. I love it, but I always thought it would be cooler with you in it so I’m glad my best friend is there.”  
Percy perked up a bit at the compliment.  
“Now since you were such a good boy.” She said, mocking him clearly. “Lunch is on me. Let’s go.”  
Percy grinned as she pulled out of the parking lot, his thoughts swirling between a mix of drums, music, and a certain blonde girl’s soft expression as Piper cranked up the music.


	2. The Audition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The auditions for Drum line are finally here, and Percy is nervous. Marching drums are a different beast from drum set and he has no idea what the instructor will be like. Hopefully he can get through auditions successfully and in one piece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, this chapter has a lot of info about drumline in it. Hopefully it's not too dense, and engaging at least. But it's all useful stuff that explaining now will help me later write more naturally. Also apologies to any hardcore drumline folks if anything is a bit off, it's been a few years.

Pausing outside the door, Percy was starting to feel a little nervous. Today was the day of tryouts and he was going in with barely any practice in snare drumming. A week ago he couldn’t have cared less about it, but now he was actually feeling nervous.  
He was pretty sure that it wasn’t because he was invested in band. His opinion of it had moved from lame to “pretty okay”. The first week had been fine overall. They went over the basics of how the year long class worked, how much money they needed to provide and what fundraisers were available throughout the year to help out. They had even had their first lesson on music theory, which confused him quite a bit but Piper was helping him out so he could at least read music now. Plus he found it a little easier to study than the normal junk he had to for school. Music was rewarding when you learned it at least, you could make a cool sound or melody.  
No, he was mostly nervous that he was going to make a fool of himself. He had seen the options for drumline, and he was pretty sure the snare was the coolest to him. But also usually the most popular according to Piper so that meant he was going to have to pull off something.  
“Nervous?”  
Piper said suddenly, making him jump. He hadn’t noticed her approaching. She just laughed, throwing an arm over his shoulder. “You’ll be fine. If you have two talents, it’s getting in to trouble, and pulling through sketchy situations by some miracle.” She teased. Percy glared slightly, but couldn’t exactly argue with her. It was pretty accurate.  
Removing her arm, she just shifted and leaned against the wall next to him. “I’m honestly surprised you’re willingly here. I figured you would have ran away after class ended. You staying after school for band? Who would have thought.” She said, a hint of teasing in her tone, but she looked sideways at him showing a genuine interest.  
Percy shrugged. “I told you guys, I’m going to try it out at least. Besides, my mom has been really happy that I’ve been going and I kinda owe her for not signing me up for military school or something. It’s nice seeing her smile.” He confessed, looking off to the side away from his friend, already knowing her reaction.  
Piper just let out a soft coo at him. “There’s hope for you yet.” She teased, pulling off his beanie to mess with his hair, before pulling it over her own head and heading into the bandroom.  
Percy followed her, trying to fix his horrible case of beanie-hair from wearing it all day.  
“What are you doing here anyway, are you trying out for drumline?”  
Piper laughed at him. “Please. I’m actually trying out for color guard this year. Tryouts are today as well.”  
She turned to see his dumbfounded expression and rolled her eyes. “Flags.”  
“Oh!” Percy announced, finally understanding. “Why is called color guard? Are you like supposed to protect the band with those poles?” He asked, earning a sign from Piper who just ignored his stupid question.  
All the chairs that normally filled the band room had been stacked neatly along the walls, freeing up most of the room. There were large drums on harnesses lined up in a semi-circle and a smattering of students gathered around. Annabeth caught their eye and made her way over. “You showed up, I’m impressed. Piper said you might bail.”  
Percy shot a glare at his friend who just stuck her tongue out. “You have to admit there was like a fifty percent chance.”  
“Maybe.”  
Annabeth let out a laugh and smiled at him. “Well you’re here, and that’s all that matters. Based off your playing, I’m sure you can get a spot.”  
Percy rubbed the back of his neck. “I hope so.”  
The blonde turned to Piper. “So you’re trying for color guard this year?”  
Setting her bag next to where Percy had stowed his, Piper turned around. “Yeah, I think I am. Marching is fun, but seeing Hazel and Silena having so much fun last year made me want to try it out.”  
Annabeth grinned. “That’s awesome. I know you’ll do amazingly. Just listen to Hylla and I’m sure you won’t have much issue getting on the line.”  
Piper nodded. “Hylla is teaching it again? Awesome. She seemed cool.” Looking over at Percy who was clearly out of place in the conversation but didn’t exactly have anywhere else to go. “Sorry. Reyna’s older sister. She graduated a while ago. She runs colorguard here now. Strict, but a beautiful dancer and she’s the reason our colorguard always gets great scores.  
Percy nodded. “I see. Stricter than Reyna?” He said, pausing at the thought. Reyna already put on a tough act, he couldn’t imagine what her older sister would be like if she was even more serious. He had a feeling she wouldn’t like him much.  
Both girls laughed at his expression, so he clearly wasn’t hiding it well.  
“Don’t worry. Drumline has its own instructor. Honestly you’ll probably get along with her well. Or hate her. Either or.” Annabeth offered with a shrug while Percy didn’t exactly feel much more reassured.  
“What’s he like?” Percy asked, suddenly worried he was going to have to deal with a hardass for drumline. Which probably wouldn’t end well, and end up with him quitting if he was honest with himself. He really did have a problem with authority.  
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “She’s… probably not what you’re imagining.”  
Just then the doors on the other side of the band room flew open and a woman with a short pixie cut walked in, a bag and drumsticks in one hand while the other was filled with a starbucks cup. Her foot was raised from where she pulled open the door with her foot.  
“‘Sup Nerds.”  
She said, smirking from behind her sunglasses.  
Every preconceived notion had just shattered to pieces, meanwhile Annabeth just ran over and over and once the woman set down her bag and sticks, she pulled Annabeth into a tight hug.  
“Thalia!” Annabeth said, grinning ear to ear.  
Piper dragged Percy by the hand over to her.  
“Hey Thalia.”  
Piper said, giving her a quick hug too. Thalia just grinned at her and return the hug. “Long time no see.”  
Meanwhile Percy was staring at her. “Thalia? Grace?”  
“‘Sup?” She said, shifting her eyes towards him.  
Annabeth was still all giddy while she motioned to Percy. “This is Percy. New this year, trying out for drumline.” She explained, but this was still the happiest Percy had seen Annabeth. Ever Piper seemed thrilled to see her.  
Thalia removed her sunglasses, hanging them on the front of her shirt. “Wait. Jackson?” A grin crept across her face as messed his hair up. “Hey cuz, it’s been years.”  
Both of the other girls stared between them surprised.  
“You know each other?”  
Percy just smiled and shared a brief hug with her. “Kinda. When I was really little I used to go to some family reunions on my dad’s side. Our dads are brothers but I haven’t seen her in years.”  
Thalia nodded. “You were like 5 the last time I saw you. You got big.”  
Percy shifted his gaze towards Annabeth. “How do you know her? You seem like you two have a history.”  
Annabeth nodded. “Thalia was a senior when I was a freshman. She was center snare here, then went off and was center snare at Olympus University for four years. She’s the reason I joined band in the first place. I owe her a lot.”  
The older woman just grinned and threw her arm around Annabeth’s shoulders. “I missed you a lot too. We don’t see each other nearly enough anymore. College was busy. But when Hedge quit, Chiron called me. Asked if I would be willing to coach you guys. Figured my music degree could be useful for something after all.” She said with a laugh.  
“Ms. Grace! It’s good to see you again.” Chiron’s voice cut in. “Do you have a minute?”  
Thalia nodded, rubbing Annabeth’s shoulder once before she walked past them to go talk to Chiron.  
Jason wandered over not to long after looking after Thalia.  
“It’s gonna be weird having my sister coach me.” He offered, but his grin showed he didn’t mind much.  
“We’re cousins?” Percy asked Jason, surprised.  
“We are?” Jason countered.  
“You are.” Annabeth offered.  
Percy frowned, rubbing his neck. “I don’t remember seeing you at the reunions.”  
The blonde thought for a moment. “Probably because I was with my mom. My parent’s divorced shortly after I was born. Dad got Thalia, Mom got me.” He offered, a hint of sadness in his tone that Percy felt bad inducing. “Still, we’re family now I guess. Can I borrow money?” He teased, earning a laugh from Jason.  
“Maybe if I had any.” He countered.  
Another tall woman entered the room, a bag over her shoulder with various long objects sticking out of it.  
“Hylla!” Piper said, moving over to talk to her.  
The woman offered her a patient smile, staring to chat with her. Percy realized that must be the color guard instructor.  
Jason nudged Percy’s arm. “Come on, I’ll show you the snares a little before we start. Just so you can see what they’re like. It’s not like a set.”  
As they moved towards the drums, they saw that guy from the other day, Tyler enter the room too. Ashe was already at his side and they both had cups of coffee. Percy had a sneaking suspicion that Ashe had dragged him in here today a lot like Piper did.  
Jason was standing next to the line of five snare drums. They were much longer than normal snare drums, and had metal harnesses attached to them. “Here.” He offered, lifting one up. Stepping forward, Percy ducked his head slightly as the harness slipped over it, resting on his shoulders. He shifted, trying to get used to the sudden increase of weight in front of him, and the metal harness that wasn’t quite cushioned enough to be comfortable. Apparently he looked as uncomfortable as he felt because Jason let out a slight laugh before he effortless slipped one on himself. “You’ll get used to it. It’s really awkward at first, especially once we start marching. The weight hanging out front isn’t really comfortable ever though.”  
Percy nodded, fidgeting with the harness again. He could already tell his shoulders would be sore after a while in this.  
“Here.” Jason said, grabbing a sweater and draping it over the top of the snare, pulling it pretty flat. He hit the top of snare and it was a much more muffled sound.  
“I’m pretty sure Thalia would kill us if we started playing normally before it was time. It’s loud.” To prove a point, he hit a single accented note on his snare and the entire room turned to look at him. Even Percy flinched slightly at the sudden noise that he knew was coming.  
Thalia shot him a glare and he raised his hands.  
“Just proving a point. Promise.”  
She did the two fingers “I’m watching you” gesture, though she was smiling as she turned back to Chiron.  
Jason just laughed and moved a sweater over his own drum, before tapping it and show how much more muted it was.  
“You can see why we usually practice outdoors.”  
Percy nodded, noticing the bag hanging from the side of the snare.  
“Sticks.” Jason answered following his gaze. “We tend to include stick tricks into the show, and flips don’t always go right. Sometimes you drop a stick and the last thing you want to do is be stuck without one and having to play with one stick. They will give you points for playing it off well, but it’s still not the best option so always have some spares on you.”  
“Makes sense.” Was Percy’s reply.  
“First things first. Snare drum sticks.” He held out a set to Percy.  
Percy’s eyes widened slightly. “The hell?” Earning a laugh from Jason, and Piper who had made her way over.  
The drumstick was about twice the size of a normal drumstick and way heavier.  
“These are what we use for marching snares. It definitely takes a while to get used to, but use need the weight to get the sound right.” Jason explained mechanically, and Percy had a feeling he had said it a few times before.  
Tentatively Percy played a few muted notes, everything about it feeling wrong. It strained his wrists in a way he wasn’t used to and the snare was super bouncy, even through the sweater.  
“One last thing, do you know how to hold sticks traditional?” He asked, flipping his left stick around and holding it underhanded.  
Percy stared at the stick, then at him. “Like… jazz right?”  
Jason nodded. “Yeah, Jazz players tend to use it too. But that’s how snare drummers drum in drumline.  
Awkwardly, Percy flipped the stick around and tried hitting the snare a few times. Jason had a tightlipped smile, as he was clearly trying not to laugh at Percy.  
“This is stupid.” Percy mumbled, unable to get his left hand to behave as well as he needed it to.  
Jason laughed. “You get used to it.” He said, patting him on the shoulder. He looked off to the side, and saw another student standing around a snare, looking awkward. Jason nodded at him before moving off to help the other guy. Percy continued to flail a bit, feeling his left elbow bouncing up and down as he tried to drum right. “Shit.” He muttered again, as the stick slipped out of his hands and clattered.  
He tried to bend down to get it, but the harness was awkward and restricting his movement.  
“Here, I got it.” Piper said, handing him back his stick. “How’s it feel?”  
Percy shifted slightly. “Heavy. And awkward. Drumming like this is so unnatural.” He complained.  
Piper laughed. “It does look pretty bad. But when you see good snare drummers do it? In sync? It’s actually super badass.” She offered. Piper rolled her eyes when she saw his doubtful look. “You’ll see in a bit, I’m sure. Trust me.”  
Nodding, Percy went back to trying to find a motion that seemed even relatively natural to him.  
“All right boy scouts, let’s do this.” Thalia’s voice boomed, cutting through the murmurs and muted drumming. Everyone looked over, seeing Thalia standing with a hand on her hip grinning at the group of hopefuls.  
“Color guard with me. We’re going to hold our auditions in the gym. Let’s move.” Hylla called out, giving a nod to Thalia before they ushered the group of girls out of the room. Piper had given Percy a pat on the back on her way out, wishing him luck.  
“So who here is new to drumline? I heard from Chiron we have a bunch of new people and a tight schedule.”  
Percy raised his hand, and glanced around. Maybe a third of the people were also raising their hands. Tyler was standing next to a weird set of four drums next to two other guys Percy didn’t recognize.  
“That’s a lot of you. But that means I have a bunch of raw talent to beat into shape.” Thalia offered. “We’re going to break up auditions into each set. Feel free to try out for different drums if you want. I may call on people if we need more filled.”  
She paused, looking around. “Let’s just get the snares over with.”  
Everyone looked nervous who was new and Percy felt his pulse race a bit. It seemed Thalia didn’t like wasting time.  
“So snare drums are the flashiest of the group. They have the most stick tricks, they drum in unison often, and if we actually get good there’s a lot of fun you can do with drumming on other people’s drums as well. But for now you just need to worry about hitting it in time. Percy, come here.” She ordered, surprising him.  
He walked over, anxiety starting to spike. Thalia ripped off the hoodie that was still draped over it and tossed it across the room. “These are loud. Get used to it.” She held out her hand for his sticks and he offered them to her, before holding onto the harness awkwardly.  
With a sharp hit, she did a loud note hitting the drum. Percy flinched again, much to his annoyance.  
“It’s much worse indoors, but if you’re marching with it you need to get used to not hearing much aside from the drums while you’re playing.”  
She grabbed Percy’s drum, shifting him so he was parallel to the group and stood in front of him, taking up a proper stance on the other side of his drum. “Stay still.” She ordered him, smirking.  
“Playing isn’t just about hitting the right note at the right time. I’ll go over the details later, but it’s all about putting on a show. When the attention is supposed to be on you, make sure they never look away.”  
Percy glanced over at the students watching with intensity. Annabeth was in the back of the room, giving him a patient encouraging smile.  
Another sharp hit had Percy’s head snap back to Thalia who was grinning.  
“Now watch.” Another sharp hit, before she hit her stick three times, and she started counting down.  
“Jason, pay attention. I need you up here next.” She said, right before she started playing.  
Percy’s jaw dropped at it as he watched it close up. Her playing was mesmerizing. Switching seemlessly between fast and slow notes, some notes were sharp while others buzzed a little on the drum. Then she started adding in stick tricks, spinning them and tossing them effortlessly as she played. The entire time her sharp blue eyes were staring directly at him, a very intentional smirk never faltering.  
She finished with one last little flair of notes, before she thrust her hands down at her sides. Percy noted she was breathing slightly heavier but her eyes were still piercing into him. Intimidated hardly covered how he felt.  
“Holy shit.” He muttered.  
The room broke into applause as he looked over to Annabeth was just beaming at him with a smug look. He could hear her thoughts practically.  
Told you it was cool.  
“Jason, come on. Let’s show them what it’s like when it’s synced up.”  
Jason walked over with his drum, pulling out a set of sticks. “You’re kidding me right? That was like an entire solo. People can’t memorize that instantly.”  
Thalia rolled her eyes. “Some center snare you are.” She teased. “You still remember last year’s show right? Start of the closer. I think I remember it enough from helping you. Here, Percy give me that snare real quick.”  
He quickly pulled it over his head, handing it to her. “Why didn’t you ask for it first.”  
Thalia laughed and winked at him. “Cause I heard you don’t know how cool drumline is yet, and stubborn asses like you need to be shown first hand.”  
Percy was just quiet and as he went back to the group. As much as her cocky attitude pissed him off, she was completely right. Her show had completely enthralled him. He couldn’t even fairly call that lame if he wanted to.  
Thalia put on her drum and Jason came back with a sheet of music. “I still have it, thankfully.” He grabbed a music stand and put it on it, tapping out a few notes.  
Thalia leaned in, muttering to herself as she watched it and tapped out some parts as well.  
“Okay, we’ll go to the quad fill here. You got it?”  
Jason nodded. “Yeah, I messed around with it to stay practiced over the summer. You good?”  
Thalia scoffed at him. “You do know I played center snare for 4 years in college right? That stuff is harder than what you do here. I’ll be fine.” She said. “Here.”  
She counted off, and soon they were playing in harmony.  
Percy had to admit he was impressed. He had never seen two people move in sync so well before. Their sticks were flying up and down, clacking on the rim of the drum, before buzzing perfectly in sync. It was still hard to wrap his head around the precision.  
Eventually they stopped and another small round of applause happened.  
“You were dragging.” Thalia said to Jason.  
Jason rolled his eyes. “You were rushing. You hit the paradiddles and sped through them. I had to speed up to catch up.”  
Thalia narrowed her eyes. “Don’t talk back to your teacher. I have way more experience than you, kid.” She said, making him squirm for a moment. “Besides, those are separate things. Me rushing the paradiddles had nothing to do with you dragging the low buzzes. Don’t blame your screw ups on mine.” She said, sticking out her tongue and smirking at him.  
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”  
Thalia laughed before turning back to the group. “My idiot brother aside, we have five snare drums so let’s have… Percy, Leo, Jason can stay, Clarrise and Bianca.” They all made their way up and Thalia handed Percy back the snare. It took a minute for some harnesses to be adjusted. From what Percy could tell, Jason and Clarisse both played snares last year so they were probably guaranteed a spot on the line. The rest of them were up for the same spots, along with a few others sitting down.  
Once they were lined up, Thalia moved to the front of them holding out her sticks in the awkward traditional grip.  
“Okay everyone, hold your sticks like this.” She said, looking at each of their hands before she moved over to Percy first. “Here, shift the stick up and keep your middle finger loose and bounce it here…” She moved his fingers around a bit, until they were in something that looked more like what she did but felt even more uncomfortable.  
All the new people had their grips corrected as Thalia stepped back.  
“Okay, we’re going to start simple. Jason will count off a tempo, then were going to do 8 4 2 1, then back up. So Eight hits with the right hand, then left, then 4 right, then left hand etc. We’ll do one of each hand twice then go back up. It’s really important to pay attention to your sticking patterns. It makes a very big difference for both practical and showy reasons.” She turned to her brother. “Okay, Jason. Take it slow to start. Like 80 bpm at eighth notes. Here, watch.”  
She said, grabbing Jason’s sticks and doing the pattern on her drum after counting it off.  
They all watched closely, except for clarisse who seemed exceedingly bored. Then again, if she had already marched snare he doubted this was even noteworthy.  
“The most important thing is don’t stop if you screw up. I don’t care if you have to stop, take a deep breath, and join back in. Do that, it’s fine. Collect yourself then get back right back on track. This is a test of how well you handle pressure as much as it is how well you can keep a rhythm. “I can fix bad playing, I can’t fix a weak will.” She said.  
“Enough rambling now though. Jason, count it.”  
Jason stood up straight, before counting off a leisurely pace. Percy took a deep breath and prepared.  
It was slow enough, especially after his drumming experience so the first eight hits weren’t bad. They switched the left hand and what was a relatively uniform sound ended up being a disaster. Ever Thalia winced at the sound, but a smile was creeping on her face. “Keep going!” She called out over the drums. “4 now!” The sound was anything but smooth, but Percy pushed on. His left hand was starting to hurt a bit and he couldn’t get a comfortable grip but the pattern wasn’t screwing him up. At least until they got the single notes. He forgot they were supposed to repeat the single notes and fumbled. Pausing, he felt things starting to crash and burn.  
Out of the corner of his eye he caught Annabeth’s. She made a dramatic motion with her hands of breathing in and out. Percy paused a beat or two, glancing at Jason’s sticks to see him switch. Hopping back in, he hadn’t missed too many notes and Thalia was looking at him with an approving grin.  
Eventually they ended and Thalia was laughing.  
The new people shared some nervous looks, and Thalia raised her hand in apology as he tried to regain her composure. “You guys did fine. But watching you all try to drum with your left hand, your elbows were waving everywhere like chickens. I never get tired of seeing that.”  
She said, wiping a tear from her eye.  
Clarisse was snickering too while Jason rolled with his eyes with a slight smile.  
“Everyone I teach has to do that their first time. It’s initiation. For now though, everyone can go back to the regular grip. If you march snare you WILL have to learn traditional grip. But I’m more worried about rhythm and pattern right now. “We’ll try it again, and you can stick normally. Except Jason and Clarisse. Don’t get lazy. Accent the switches properly and softer on the off beats.” She said, with a pointed look at the two veterans.  
Jason counted it off again, and the sound was much better this time. Even Thalia seemed impressed.  
Percy had been hyper aware of the single note switches so he managed to avoid screwing them up, and being able to stick how he was used to took a lot of the pressure off as well.  
“Good.” Thalia said when they finished. “Looks like you all have rhythm at least.”  
For the next little while, Thalia ran them through another few basic exercises. On one of them, she even had them stand on one foot then switch to test their balance for marching, which Percy was not graceful at in the least. Then she had them sit down and let a few other students come up to try out the snare.  
Once everyone who wanted to try the snare went she smiled. “Good job. Now the quads. Frank, if you will?”  
A large man walked over wearing that weird set of drums Percy noticed before. It had four large drums in a half circle with two tiny drums on the inside near the harness.  
“These are quads. The most melodic of the drums in a sense. The most like a set, but they’re heavy and kind of awkward. A little less flashy, but they have their own kind of presence on the field. Frank, do you remember any of the show last year?”  
Frank nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”  
A wry smile crept across Thalia’s face. “Ma’am? You’re polite. I like that. You got the spot. Sit down.” She said, before laughing. “I’m kidding. Just play what you remember for a bit.”  
Frank nodded and counted off a tempo. Percy had to admit, quads were impressive. His hands moved around a lot more than they did with snare. While snare looked super technical, this was different. He was balancing moving to different drums with a smooth tempo. It looked intimidating in its own way.” He finished and looked to Thalia who seemed impressed. “Damn, nice job. You probably won’t have any issue in college if you continue playing. That was solid drumming.”  
“Now who wants to give it a try?”  
The room looked at each other, everyone nervous after that performance.  
Percy considered raising his hand for it, it reminded him of set a bit.  
“You, come up.” Thalia said pointing somewhere behind Percy.  
Looking around, he saw Tyler had his hand up. He seemed a little pale, but he had his hand raised.  
Thalia grinned at him. “Don’t worry. Quads are a beast in their own right. Messing up is fine, like I said. Just don’t give up.”  
Thalia helped him get settled in the harness, adjusting it to a good height before he stood a little awkwardly next to Frank. Frank gave him a friendly smile, showing him a good place to hold out his arms.  
“We’ll start with the same exercise. Except every time you change numbers, move to the next drum. Frank, show him.”  
Frank nodded before playing the same one Percy had started with, but each time he reduced the number of hits he jumped to the next on in the circle before going back up.  
Tyler was watching Frank with a deadly focus, his own hands mirroring Frank’s as Frank played. Percy could see Thalia staring at Tyler’s hands too.  
“Ready?” She said as Frank counted it off.  
Tyler started off pretty smooth, but when he was switching to the double hits, his stick hit in between the drums and you could see the panic set in. He tried to get back on track, but didn’t manage to until they were almost back on the eights.  
The room clapped for him, but Percy was close enough to see how tight Tyler was gripping his sticks out of frustration.  
“Okay, not bad. Next let-”  
“Can we try again?” Tyler blurted out, before his eyes widened. “Sorry.”  
Thalia just looked at him for a moment, a grin creeping on her face. “Of course. I like that. One more time, Frank.”  
Frank was also grinning. “Yeah.” He counted it off and Percy saw Tyler silently counting with him. He was focusing sharply again and this time he made it through without much issue. Thalia was smirking as they finished. “Much better. Nice focus, kid. Next is..”  
Thalia ran him through some more exercises before letting a few other people try. Percy had even hopped up there, but he found he didn’t like quads nearly as much as he thought he might. The drums were low, and the weight was super annoying as it kept pulling him forward. The multiple drums were fun, but it didn’t really have the same vibe as doing a fill on a set.  
Eventually everyone who wanted a chance went and she moved over to the last line of drums.  
“These are the bass drums. We have five, some lines have more, some less. This drum is both the most simple, and the hardest. Each drum makes up a part of a group.” She hit the smallest drum, which had a relatively light tom-sounding hit. Then she moved towards the biggest one which had a loud resounding dull hit to it, hitting each one in between.  
“Bass drums have cool fills, but their parts are split between each drum. So excellent rhythm is a must and dedication. You can do cool drum fills on basses, and when a full bass line is in sync, it’s wicked. Seeing five people play the same part split between them is incredible, if not a little under appreciated. But if you screw up it sounds muddy.” She explained.  
“Beckendorf, you were fifth right?”  
A large man stood up and made his way over to the biggest bass drum. Percy was genuinely impressed as the man hoisted it over his shoulders and put on the harness. There was no way he could see around it, the top of it went a good foot past his head.  
“For this one, we’ll get some people to try it out because it’s a team effort.”  
She gathered some students, including a set of twins who all tried it out. Their exercises were similar, switching between hitting the large sides of the drums, then having them try and go up and down the line one at a time on rhythm. Percy didn’t try out for that one, because he didn’t feel confident enough about his teamwork to try and tackle that challenge. A flashy snare fit him much better.  
A little while later they all wrapped up and everyone was looking nervous.  
“Great job everyone, honestly. I know how scary auditions can be, and the fact you got up here and flailed around is half the battle. The school has a limited number of spots, and I’m going to chat with Chiron a little more before announcing tomorrow. If you don’t get a post, there are plenty of positions open in pit that will need to be filled, and I’m talking to Chiron to see if we can get a Cymbal line going as well. For now though, thank you all for coming and I look forward to working with those of you who make it.” She finished, offering a salute.  
Everyone stood up and started murmuring. Around the middle of the bass drum auditions color guard had made their way back in to watch them and Piper made her way to Percy after it was over.  
“How’d it go?” She asked, studying his face for any signs.  
Percy shrugged. “I think pretty well. The fact I’ve drummed before definitely helped. Marching seems like it’s going to suck though, those things are heavy and moving around a lot doesn’t sound fun.”  
Piper nodded. “It definitely takes some getting used to, but I can help you practice with that. Think you’ll get a spot?”  
Percy pulled his beanie back on. “I dunno. That’s up to Thalia. I’m sure Jason will though.” He said, earning a punch in the arm from Piper.  
Annabeth made her way over to Percy. “Good job today. You recovered nicely.” She offered  
Percy blushed slightly. “Uh… yeah. I meant to say thank you. You helped for sure.”  
Meanwhile Piper was looking between the two of them with a growing grin.  
Annabeth smiled down at the floor before pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.  
“Well I hope you make it. I wanna talk to Thalia before she leaves so I’m gonna go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
Percy nodded as Annabeth patted Piper on the shoulder and made her way over to Thalia.  
Piper gave him the biggest grin.  
“She helped you, eh?”  
“Shut up McLean. She just reminded me to breathe.”  
“Weird, I thought she took your breath away.” She countered, laughing at Percy’s groan as she started walking out of the room.  
“How’d your auditions go?”  
Piper grinned. “I nailed them. It helped I had practiced with Silena over the summer. I think I made it.”  
Percy pulled her into a side hug. “That’s awesome! I’m proud of you.”  
“When we both make it, we’ll go get pizza to celebrate. My treat. Deal?”  
Grinning, Percy nodded. “I don’t think I’ll ever say no to that.”  
As they piled into the car, Percy sighed looking out at the darkening sky.  
“That was… honestly a lot of fun. More fun than I’ve had in awhile. Thank you Piper, for real. I really hope I can make it.”  
Piper just gave him the warmest smile. “I’m proud of you. I know you’ll make it. Otherwise, I can take out whoever else made it and get you a spot.”  
Percy laughed as they drove away. It felt like things were finally starting to click in place a little more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it and I hope the chapter was enjoyable!


	3. The Announcement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The results are finally going to be announced on who made the line. After the results are out, Percy gets dinner with Piper and his mom and is joined by an unexpected guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay with this chapter! But I have a lot planned for this AU so hopefully things will be rolling a lot smoother now! If you notice any small discrepancies with Thalia's past, I'll be tweaking the earlier chapters soon. I'm still figuring out some minor details of the past and how all the events lined up so thins are a bit in flux. Sorry for any confusion!

With a yawn, Percy pulled open the annoyingly heavy band door. The whole room, as he had learned, was rather soundproofed because the band got pretty loud. Once he got past the nerves of being in a new place that felt like he wasn’t welcome in at first, it was actually a pretty cool rom. The rooms were lined with wooden lockers that people got assigned in the beginning of the year, so he now just kept his stuff in this room. The back of the room was occupied by the percussion section, various mallet instruments he couldn’t quite tell apart yet, an expensive piano he tried to avoid touching out of fear, a big set of drums he had heard called “timpanis” and a sink and counter with a microwave. There was a small room off to the side that held a bunch of big string instruments and archives of old music, and a hallway that lead to the teachers office and connected to the choir room. In the front of the room there was a small room dedicated to drumline gear, and three practice rooms, one of which held a smaller, cheaper piano for practicing. The room was feeling more comfortable to him than he expected it would, and the various pictures and awards of previous bands was actually kinda cool to see hanging up. It really did give the feeling of being a part of something bigger than himself.   
Moving over to his locker, he pulled out a set of drum sticks and moved back to the back of the room. Today they would find out the results of the auditions, and it was making him nervous.  
Despite how nonchalant he wanted to be about the whole situation, he was actually really hoping he made the line.   
Thalia’s performance had been something else. She wasn’t like the stuffy music teachers she had expected, but rather she seemed pretty cool. She had made the drumming seem as cool as a drum kit. She turned it into a challenge.  
“What’s wrong?” Piper’s voice chimed in, leaning over the chair next to him and tilting her head.   
He glanced over at her, before shrugging. “Nothing.” He said, scooting down a little lower in his chair. He wasn’t sure why, but admitting to Piper that he was nervous about the results felt like losing. He could already hear her gloating about being right about band.  
She rolled her eyes, before plopping into the seat next to him. “You do realize we’ve been friends for ages right? I know everything about you. Like how when you’re anxious you bounce your leg a lot. That nervous about the auditions?”  
He flinched, annoyed that his best friend could read him like a book. Then again, he couldn’t be surprised, it wasn’t like he couldn’t read her well either. He knew all of her habits without even trying.  
“Maybe a little.” He confessed.   
She grinned at him, but decided against teasing him apparently. “I heard about the auditions from Annabeth. I’m sure you did fine. You’re way more musical than you think you are, and you remind me of Thalia a lot. I’m sure you’ll get picked. Clarisse and Jason are obvious picks, but my money is on you and Bianca.” She offered, thinking for a moment. Percy knew his friend wouldn’t lie to him to get his hopes up, Piper honestly thought he had a shot.   
Not long after Annabeth wandered over, giving him a small smile and a wave. “Nervous?”  
“A little.” He confessed, trying to play it off. Her eyes gave him the impression she could see through it, but she apparently wasn’t going to call him on it.  
“I get that. I had my auditions at the end of last year for drum major. I was a wreck the whole month leading up to it, and until I heard my name I don’t think I relaxed once.”  
Piper laughed and nudged Percy’s side. “You really want to stay away from Annabeth when she’s stressed over something. She gets scary. Also avoid her in the mornings before coffee. I found out the hard way if you make her grumpy she’ll snap.”  
Percy snickered, turning to a laugh when he saw Annabeth’s cheeks blush red slightly. “The morning isn’t the only time I’m dangerous McLean, watch it.” She warned, crossing her arms.   
“Mhmm, sure.” Piper said dismissively.   
Leaning over slightly, Percy could see Thalia in the front of the room now, chatting with Chiron about something. Probably the results if Percy had a guest.   
His eyes shifted to Annabeth. “Do you know the results already?” He watched her carefully, looking for any signs.   
She shrugged. “Nope. Just because I’m kinda a teacher’s assistant doesn’t mean I get to know secrets ahead of time.”  
“That’s a flat out lie.” Piper chimed in, raising an eyebrow.   
“True. But I’m telling the truth this time. I don’t know, I didn’t ask. It’s hard to talk to people if you know something about them they don’t know.” Annabeth answered, and Percy could only nod. She made a good point. He also realized she had a good poker face, he really couldn’t get a read on what she was thinking.   
She plopped down in the seat on the other side of him. “Like I told Piper, I think you’ll make it. I think Thalia likes you, and you play well, so I see no reason why not. We lost two seniors last year on snare, and with our small percussion section we had spots to fill.”  
Percy tried not to get his hopes up still. He had had them dashed too many times before to be comfortable with that.  
Glancing over, he saw Tyler sitting alone in the corner of the room. He was on the piano bench, texting someone on his phone, looking way more nervous than Percy felt. Poor kid was probably even more anxious than he was.   
Jason approached him a minute late and he looked up startled, before starting to stand up. Jason just said something he couldn’t quite hear, and Percy saw Tyler relax slightly. They chatted for a moment, and soon they were both laughing.   
“Jason’s good with people.” Percy remarked idly, impressed. He was never that good at dealing with people, it honestly made him a little jealous.   
“I know, right?” Piper remarked a little too quickly, before she looked away like she hadn’t said anything.   
Annabeth had an amused smirk on her face as she looked at Piper, but turned to Percy. “He wasn’t always though. After luke left…” There was a pause where Percy saw Annabeth’s expression darken slightly. “Our band was kinda shaken up. He was a junior who volunteered with Thalia when she was a senior at my middle school to teach music. He left… a gap that had to be filled my freshman year.” Her face grew darker, and Percy could tell there was a lot more to the story than she was sharing, but he wasn’t going to pry. “Jason and Reyna both stepped up. I fell into the role later thanks to Thalia. But Jason was just as nervous as Tyler was when he started. He practically stuck to the drumkit to avoid talking to people. Band has a way of changing people though, for better or worse.”  
There was a heavy silence between them as Piper rested a hand on Annabeth’s knee reassuringly. Percy was wondering just what had happened their freshman year, but he was still practically an outsider and wasn’t going to drag up old pain. Maybe he’d ask Piper about it later.  
Piper, seemingly done with the tension though snickered and nudged his shoulder. “On a lighter note, look.” She said, subtly pointing across the room towards where Ashe was standing, looking clearly a little frustrated at Jason chatting with Tyler. “Someone’s jealous.”  
Annabeth laughed. “Who woulda thought Ashe would have grown so attached to someone that quickly. I’m sure she’s happy Tyler is being welcomed though.”  
Percy watched Ashe let out a sigh, before smiling slightly at the boys and turning back to talking to some other students.  
“Ten bucks if Tyler gets Quads Ashe is the first to congratulate him.” Piper offered.   
Eventually Chiron called the class to attention and they all sat up at attention.   
“Now, it’s clear there’s an elephant in the room and everyone is waiting to hear the drumline results. Now in the hopes that there will be a chance that our dancers and percussionists may actually listen to class for once, I’ll let Thalia clear the air now.” He offered, making the most of the rest of the band laugh while Annabeth huffed.  
Thalia stepped up, her cocky grin being replaced but a more somber smile.   
“Sadly there were more students than there were positions, some unfortunately I can’t give good news to everyone. However, I was proud to see how many people were willing to step up to take the risk to audition. Even if you didn’t get a spot on the line, this band will always have room for you. Be it in pit or another instrument. So don’t give up and just kick ass next year!”   
“Thalia!” Chiron warned.  
She flinched and snickered. “Just kick butt next time and you’ll get a spot.”  
The group laughed as Thalia pulled out her list. A hush fell over the group as everyone was suddenly on edge. Even the people who hadn’t auditions were suddenly nervous for their friends.  
“We’ll start with the snares. Jason, Clarisse.” Thalia glanced over at Chiron. “Leo Valdez. Bianca Di Angelo. Percy Jackson.”  
Percy’s eyes widened as he heard his name called. He looked over at Piper only to see a flurry of brown hair as she tackled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around him tightly.  
“You did it!” She said, her voice dripping with pride.  
Percy hugged her back, filled with pride he wasn’t expecting. Realizing he would actually be on the drumline and learning to do the cool things he saw Thalia doing was pretty cool.  
Glancing over, he saw Annabeth beaming at him too. She mouthed congrats.  
Jason and Clarisse both looked excited, but it had been pretty obvious they would make it. Leo seemed stoked to, and once Piper had let Percy go, she had given him a high five. Bianca was celebrating with Silena quietly.  
Thalia gave a moment for the cheers and applause to die down. “As for the Quads. Frank Zheng and Tyler Glacias.”  
Frank was congratulated by Hazel and some others, while Tyler just looked shocked. He broke out into a smile, before looking down at his lap, still grinning. He was celebrating on his own until an arm was thrown over his shoulder. He looked up to see Ashe grinning at him. “Good job! Making quads on your first try is impressive.” She said, making him blush slightly at the praise and her proximity.   
“Uh.. thanks.” He said, grinning at her.  
She spread her arms slightly, and he hesitated for only a moment before he hugged her as she returned the hug.  
Piper just leaned over. “Told you.”  
Thalia was glancing over at Tyler and Ashe as the brief round of applause died down. She smirked for a moment before clearing her throat. “Finally, we have our bass line. The Stoll Twins, Charles Beckendorf, Will Solace, and Chris Rodriguez.”   
The twins high fived loudly, Beckendorf was congratulated by a lot of students again. Percy was impressed, he seemed to be someone else the band looked up to a lot. Annabeth had moved over to thank Will, and to Percy’s surprise Clarisse was congratulating Chris in a surprisingly sweet exchange. While Percy hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to clarisse yet, she had seemed… rough to say the least. Yet, she was showing a soft side to Chris that Percy doubted he’d ever get to see himself.  
Now that the line was announced, there were murmurs throughout the band. There wasn’t really an upset, based off experience the line pretty much fell as people figured. They were surprised that two new transfers had made it, Percy and Tyler judging by the whispers he heard.  
Ashe was still happily chatting with Tyler, and Percy was still grinning. He wasn’t sure if it was just because it was something new still, but he was in for a heck of a year.   
Thalia stepped off the platform as Chiron took it again.   
“Congratulations to those of you who passed the auditions! I’m proud of all of you. And to the rest, never give up! You are all young, and you future is ripe with possibilities. Learn what you can now, and rise to the challenge next time.”  
The classes offered some confirmations as there was still clearly an energy in the air.  
“Monday will be the start of our serious practices, so I suggest you take this weekend as a chance to prepare. Our schedule will be very rushed due to the unfortunate circumstances of the delayed start of this year. However I have confidence you will all be able to rise to the moment.”  
There was a delay and Percy saw multiple students lean forward, like they were expecting something. He had no idea what else could be announced, but they were all expecting something.  
“Now, I believe you all are waiting to hear what our show will be this year-” There was a cut off as a round of cheers erupted from the group, Piper included. Annabeth had a knowing smirk, but still seemed excited.   
Piper leaned over. “We voted last year but he waited until he saw what our line up would be to announce what the music would be. Only Annabeth and Reyna knew.”  
Annabeth just stuck a tongue out at her.  
“This year, our music will be the soundtrack to ‘Six Wings’”   
There was a clamouring of sounds as people let out their opinions. Half the group was excited for their first pick was chosen, while others complain. Some had wanted a variety of other options it seemed. But Piper seemed pretty happy, and Percy recognized the soundtrack at least.   
It had been a blockbuster hit the past year, with two sequels apparently in the works.   
“Why didn’t you tell me!” Piper said, shaking Annabeth. “You know I love that movie.”  
Annabeth was all grins as she shrugged. “Because I wanted to see your reaction here, and I doubted you’d be able to keep it secret.”  
“Ugh, you’re the worst.” Piper said with a smile as she turned to Percy.   
“I wonder what songs are in it. They usually break down the show into an intro, a soft break in the middle, and a finale. I wonder who composed it too.”  
Percy tried to nod encouragingly, but he was in over his head. He had no idea how a movie could be a score for a show. Stil, he figured he’d learn soon enough so he’d just celebrate with Piper.   
“For now, for the rest of the class, we'll go over the basics of marching. So, everyone follow me to the football field.”  
Percy glanced around but everyone was still talking about the music standing up and heading towards the doors like it was normal. Percy was a bit caught off guard but just followed Piper and Annabeth as they headed out towards the back of the room.   
A minute later and they were all huddled up as Chiron, Thalia, Hylla, Annabeth and Reyna were standing in front of them.   
“Annabeth, if you don’t mind.”  
Annabeth nodded. “Returning students will know the drill, but for the first timers… Marching is a lot stricter than you probably think. Posture, direction, expressions those will all be judged, musical playing aside. You need to be in perfect control of your body as you move.  
Thalia nodded. “Drumline and Colorguard also both have some different things unique to them. Hylla will explain how color guard works to her students later, but for now I’ll have drumline learn the basics with the rest of you. Maybe an example would be best. Attention!”   
Annabeth and Reyna both snapped to attention, standing straight up, arms resting at their hips in tight fists.  
“Up!” Their hands shot up as if they were holding a trumpet in front of their face.   
Thalia continued to bark a few different orders, having them face different directions, marching at ease or attention, pausing, reversing their direction. Once again, Percy was impressed. It was like when Thalia and Jason had played. They moved in sync with each other, it almost looked mechanical. As he watched Annabeth, he could tell just how carefully she was moving. Every part of her body was under control, even her expression was serious but smiling.   
Eventually Thalia let them stop and they just stood there for a moment, grinning. There was a small round of applause from returning students who apparently knew how difficult was it was respond instantly to orders like that.  
Glancing over at Piper, he was suddenly worried about how well he could take orders being barked at him all day. Apparently Piper could read his mind because she offered him a sympathetic smile and patted his leg reassuringly. Marching band was turning out to be a lot more than he expected, in every way.  
“Now, while Reyna and Annabeth are both prime examples of marchers, don’t worry if you are slower on the uptake. It was very much a skill learned by practice, and I will be sure to give you plenty of practice.” He said with a playful lilt in his voice.  
“For now, everyone stand up and get into rows. We’re going to practice.”  
They all got up, and Percy was standing around nervously.  
Piper nudged him. “Stand behind me, keep your eyes on me if you get confused. Just copy what you see, but try not to move your head too much.”  
Percy nodded and listened to her as everyone group up.   
Apparently Ashe had said the same thing to Tyler because the boy was standing behind her, looking as nervous as Percy felt.   
They ran them through a few different ways of standing, walking around and correcting people as needed gently. Then the basics of turning.  
“Remember, when you march you always face the stands and the judges. When you march sides, raise your chest and turn at your hips.” Annabeth explained, walking to the side as she twisted her torso to face the same way she had been.  
“Drumline is a little different. We crab walk versus turning because of the harnesses, and Bass Drums will always face their right side to the stands instead. But we’ll go over that later so follow along with Annabeth.” Thalia interjected for a moment.   
Nervously Percy tried to get used to the idea of turning his hips but not his chest a bit.   
“Let’s try it slowly.”  
Annabeth said as they all took positions. Thalia, Hylla, Annabeth, and Reyna all stood outside the block of students on one side to give them someone they can see.  
They continued to drill marching a bit, and before long Chrion was checking his clock before clapping his hands loudly.   
“That’s enough for a first day. Wonderful job to all of you who are just starting out. While we will be giving you plenty of time to practice this, I highly recommend spending at least a little time outside of class practicing. You will have a lot to learn at the same time, and anything you can make second nature will spare you stress. Now then, let’s get back to the classroom for the final notes.”  
Everyone let out a groan as they began to file their way back into the classroom. Percy’s body was aching all over, and he was tired. It was still pretty hot out, and it was more physically intense than he expected.  
They all piled back into the bandroom and Percy collapsed back into a seat.  
Piper was sitting next to him, smirking at him. “Good job today. It’s weird seeing you follow orders for once.”  
Rolling his eyes, Percy crossed his arms. “Yeah well, it wasn’t exactly easy. I don’t know how you put up with it for so long.”  
Piper nudged his leg. “Because once you get it down, it changes how you think. You don’t listen because someone is trying to boss around. You listen because you are working with others. One person in a large group, all working together, all helping each other out.”  
He stayed quiet, thinking about it. He still didn’t understand but moving as a group was… weird. Seeing dozens of students move in a group, turn on a dime, marching together to a single beat. It felt almost a little… surreal.  
He stayed quiet, but Piper seemed content with the fact he was thinking.   
Chiron stood up at the front again.   
“Now as you all get ready for the weekend, I suggest you rest up. Starting next week we will be splitting our time between learning our music and our drill. We have a lot of catching up to do, and this will not be easy. We will also be starting to collect initial fees next week so please have them prepared or have the deferral signed and returned.”  
This time Thalia stepped up. “Drumline, meet with me for a moment after class please.”  
Hylla repeated the request to her color guard as everyone was dismissed.  
Percy huddled over with the rest of the drumline while Thalia glanced around.   
“Like Chiron said, we have a lot of work we need to do if we’re going to keep up with the band. We will need at least one day a week after school in the beginning to keep up.”  
They all chatted a bit, until they decided Wednesday at night would be the best time for all of them.   
Colorguard seemed to be having a similar meeting about extra practice.   
“I know we keep saying how much work this will be, but I promise you we’ll have plenty of fun too. For those of you who are new, I will personally turn you into total badasses by the time I’m done with you. Just don’t be stupid and work hard, and we will put all the other drumlines to shame.”  
She put her hand out into the center, and Jason and a few other senior members did so to. Percy stared at it, then back up at Thalia. Was she serious? That was so cheesy.  
She returned his gaze with a challenge of her own. “We’re drumline. We’re loud, we’re proud, and honestly we’re all kind of idiots. If we don’t work as a team, we’ll fail a team. The band relies on our beat to keep together, and we rely on each other. So we’re a team, get used to it.”  
Percy glanced around, but even Tyler had put his hand in. Slowly he reached his hand in, before Thalia slapped her other one down on his harshly, making him flinch as she grinned at him.   
“On 3, drumline!”  
“ONE. TWO. THREE. DRUMLINE!” The seniors shouted while Percy mumbled it.   
They were grinning while the rest of the band looked over at them, rolling their eyes and laughing.   
Piper wandered over while Hylla started scolding Thalia for making so much noise.   
“It smells like team spirit.”  
Percy hit her shoulder. “That was actually the worst pun you’ve made. Don’t drag a good band down to your level.”  
Laughing, his best friend got her stuff from her locker. “You’re so cute when you’re a part of a team. Did you tell your mom you got it yet?”  
Pausing, he realized he hadn’t actually let his mom know yet. Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to her. A moment later she replied.  
Congrats! We’re going out for Pizza to celebrate. Bring Piper.  
Percy just turned his phone to show Piper, who grinned. “Your mom is the best.”  
He rolled his eyes and sent her a thumbs up. “Yeah, I know.” As he finished getting his stuff together and started to walk to his car with Piper.  
XxXxXxXxX  
Later that night, Percy walked into Blackjack Pizza with Piper and his mom. They had studied at his place a little before they had decided to get dinner when his mom got back from work. He didn’t even have a chance to say hi to her before she had pulled him into a tight hug, saying she was proud of him and thanking him over and over again.   
He had told her she was overreacting, but he had to admit that it felt very… nice to see his mom so happy for once. He wouldn’t screw this up, his mom deserved that at least. Plus even his stubborn ass had to admit that so far band was cooler than he expected. He was pretty sure he lucked out with his drumline instructor. He doubted he would have been so into it if it hadn’t been someone as cool as Thalia. She seemed like she got it, that if someone like her could enjoy it so much then maybe he could too.  
They stood in line, looking up at the make-your-own-pizza menu. The restaurant wasn’t too close, so they didn’t get the chance to go too often. His mom usually saved it for a celebration or a day they were spending together.   
Piper was idly chatting with him about what she was going to get, listing of various vegetarian pizzas that Percy would never try. He respected her choice, but he couldn’t imagine giving up burgers.  
Percy ordered what he always got, with Sally having done the same. Piper made some vegetable abomination, which Percy tried to hide his opinion on it, but judging by Piper’s laugh he didn’t do that good of a job.  
His mom paid, and they all took their seats at one of the tables. He was chatting with his mom about the practices they were going to have every week, when Piper nudged his side.   
“Guess who walked in.”  
Percy followed her gaze and saw none other than Annabeth standing there. She was alone, looking up at the menu as she fixed her ponytail.   
“Who’s that?” Sally asked, quietly leaning over the table.   
“Annabeth. A drum major.” Percy offered.  
“Chase!” Piper called out suddenly, making Percy flinch. He looked at Piper with wide eyes. Why was she calling her over?   
Annabeth perked up at her name, glancing around until she finally recognized them. Offering a smile, she headed over to them.   
“Hello.”  
Percy offered her a small wave. “Fancy seeing you here. Getting dinner?”  
She nodded. “I finished up some studying in the library nearby. Never been here before but I kept hearing about it. I don’t know what’s good here though.”  
Piper suddenly roughly shoved Percy in the back so he stumbled off the bench, forcing him to stand up and find himself inches from Annabeth. His eyes widened as he leaned back a bit. Her eyes were surprised, but a playful smirk crept on her face. “Hi?”  
“Pip-”  
“Tell her what to avoid here. Then she should join us. We were just letting Sally know about how marching band works.” Piper offered, far too amused with herself.   
Percy glared back over his shoulder at his friend but nodded when he looked back to Annabeth. “If you don’t have any other ideas, you can join us.”  
She brushed some of her stray bangs behind her ear, smiling softly before nodding. “Sure.” Her eyes shifted to Sally.  
“You must be Mrs. Jackson then.”  
His mom stood up, offering her hand to Annabeth.   
“Sally is fine, dear. I’ve heard a bit about you.” She said, with a tone in her voice that made Percy know exactly what expression she was wearing even if he couldn’t see it. He internally groaned, know what his mom was thinking as he started walking towards the line. “Let’s get you some food.” He offered Ananbeth, desperately trying to move her along.  
Mercifully Annabeth followed him.  
“So what’s good here?” She asked, looking up at the menu.  
Percy looked over it again. “Avoid the ham, and red peppers. I’ve never had good experiences with them. The garlic knots are amazing too. Also get extra cheese, they tend to go on the lighter side of it for some reason.” He offered.  
Annabeth nodded along, with a surprisingly genuine focus which Percy found pretty cute. She was pretty straight forward.  
She ordered her pizza as their were called to be picked up. Percy sat down with his, kicking Piper’s leg under the table as he glared at her for putting him on the spot like that. Just because he thought Annabeth was pretty didn’t mean he needed his best friend trying to set him up with her. He had enough on his plate trying to figure out all this marching crap. She flinched at the kick, but was still grinning at him, apparently having anticipated it and already decided it was worth it.  
When Annabeth moved towards them, he moved next to his mom while Piper scooted down, leaving Annabeth across from him.   
“So you’re a drum major? You help conduct the band, right?” Sally said, putting down her slice to engage Annabeth.   
Annabeth nodded, looking impressed as she took a bite. “Yeah we- wow this is good- yeah, we mark out the tempo for the band to keep the group, theoretically, playing at the same tempo. We also get to give cues and help out how we can from our podium.  
Sally nodded. “That’s what I read.”  
Percy glanced over at his mom. “You read about it?”  
His mom shrugged as she took another sip of her drink. “If my son is going to be spending so much of his year in a program, I should at least understand it. Especially since I made you do it. Plus, I like research. You know that.” She teased.  
Percy smiled at his mom, she really was a good mom. He turned back to Annabeth who was looking between them with a soft smile. Ignoring how hot his face felt, he spoke up.   
“My mom is a writer. She likes doing research on things too.”  
“Just a self published writer on the side.” She countered, making Percy roll his eyes.   
“You seem like a good mother, Mrs. Jackson.”  
“Sally, dear. I told you. And thank you. It’s only because I have a wonderful kid, even if he doesn’t like to show it.” She said, reaching over and messing up Percy’s hair who just laughed and swatted at her arm.  
Piper leaned over and said something to Annabeth that Percy couldn’t hear, which made the blonde nod. He shot his friend a glare, but she just winked and took another bite of her pizza.   
“Well hopefully you’ll be able to see one of our shows. We have four competitions planned this year, with some performances at football games once we get the show settled.”   
Sally nodded. “I don’t plan on missing any of them. Make sure to let Percy know if you guys need volunteers. I would be more than happy to help out whenever I can.”  
Annabeth shot a glance at Percy then nodded. “Of course. We always need either drivers, people to help at the competition with preparing lunch, or general set up. I’ll be sure Percy passes along any messages from Chiron.”  
Sally nodded. “Good.”   
The rest of their pizza dinner was quiet, but nice. Annabeth answered some more questions about the season for Percy and Sally, Piper chiming in occasionally to offer her input. Percy also had the chance to glean a few more bits of info about Annabeth. She lived alone with her dad. She wanted to study architecture, and she had been in music since middle school.  
It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make Percy want to know more.   
Eventually they had been there a while, the food was long gone, and he saw his mom let out a yawn. She had been working all day after all. They had cleaned up their table, and were standing outside the restaurant saying their goodbyes. Annabeth had offered to give Piper a ride home, since her house was closer to hers than Percy’s so they were saying their goodbyes.  
“Thanks… uh… for letting me sit with you guys. It was nice eating with you guys. Your mom also seems pretty cool.”  
Percy nodded and scratched the back of his head. “Thanks for answering our questions. I’m sure you dealt with that all day. But when my mom said she wants to volunteer she means it. I’m sure she’ll be a huge help, whether I want her to or not.”  
Annabeth laughed, pulling her jacket a little closer around her in the chill of the night air.   
“Well, I’ll see you next week. Make sure you practice a little, okay? I have high hopes for you.” She said with a teasing wink, before turning and catching up to Piper who had given her some space.  
Piper gave him a peace sign as she left, with a smirk that meant he was going to be expecting some annoying texts later that night.  
As he piled in the car with his mom, she started to drive back to their house.  
“She seems nice.”  
“Ugh, mom.” He said, dropping his head back against the headrest. Just those three words were dripping with that mom tone. “She’s just a friend. Yeah, she’s pretty cool.”  
Sally laughed, raising a hand in a peace making gesture. “I’m just saying, I’m glad you found a friend like her there. I hope I get to see more of her.”  
Percy rolled his eyes, looking out the window.  
He hoped he got to see more of her too.


	4. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for their first real practice. Percy runs into some old friends, and is then thrown headfirst into marching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! It was a weird month for me and this chapter was rough to get out.

“Jackson!” Percy whipped around at his name, pulling his earbud out.  
“Yo?” He responded instinctually. Looking around to figure out who was calling him.  
His friends walked over, laughing and hoisting their skateboards in their arms. “Sup dude, it’s been a while. Where the hell have you been?”  
He shrugged. “Things got busy. It’s the start of a school year. I don’t wanna screw it up already.”  
They just shrugged. “Whatever. Is it true you joined those band nerds?” They asked, crossing their arms.  
Flinching slightly, Percy stood up and squared his jaw. “Yeah, what of it?”  
The looked at each other and laughed. “Man you got screwed over. Sorry you have to deal with those nerds.” They said throwing an arm around his shoulder supportively. “Any of them hot at least?”  
Percy rolled his eyes, once again annoyed by his friends. He knew that deep down they weren't really bad guys, but that didn't mean he was a fan of their crass personalities. For as much as fhey had influenced him, his mom really had raised him better than that.  
Still…  
He just shrugged. "Yeah, some of them are pretty attractive." He offered, a blonde flashing through his mind, though hot wasn't the first word he'd think of when thinking about her, usually intimidating or impressive fit better.  
Thry just laughed and shoved his shoulder.  
"Hopefully you'll get something out of being there at least. Just don't go soft on us bro, don't let them rub off on you."  
“They’re not that bad…” He muttered, not really wanting to fight with his friends. It was true he hadn’t really hung out with them much since he found out he was going to be in band.  
They just shook their head.”Whatever man.” They said, clasping the side of his arm before they headed off towards their classes.  
Percy pulled open the band doors, wandering in with a frown on his face.  
Were they right? Was he really changing? Shaking his head, he pulled his beanie a little lower as he tossed his bag in his locker and slumped over to a seat near the back. He crossed his arms and slid down his seat a little. He was just here because he promised his mom. Sure Annabeth was kinda cool and the drums weren’t as bad as he thought, but he wasn’t a band kid. He was just staying out of trouble. He wasn’t going soft. He just needed a break to lay low.  
His leg started to bounce and he began to feel a little restless the more he thought. He glanced at the door. Maybe he could bail on class today, go skating to clear his mind.  
“What’s wrong?” Piper’s voice cut in, making him jump as he turned to see her.  
“Nothing.” He snapped, wincing at his own tone. He definitely hadn’t meant to snap at his best friend.  
She just raised an eyebrow at his tone. “Sure. What’s wrong?” She repeated, crossing her arms and letting him know she was not about to let it go.  
“Nothing.” He repeated, sighing and ripping off his beanie to run a hand through his head. His mind was tripping over itself and it was starting to piss him off.  
“I just saw the guys before coming here and -”  
“Oh.” Piper said, already ahead of him. She just took a seat next to him, nudging him in the side. “You know I don’t like them. Don’t let them get to you.” She offered gently.  
It was true, for the most party Piper hated Percy’s friends. Just because she knew they were most of the reason he got in trouble. They brought out the worst in him, but she wasn’t going to be some controlling best friend. Percy could make his own choices, even if she disagreed with him. But she had promised she’d always be on his side when things got bad.  
Percy nodded. “I know. But they’re right. I’m not a band geek.” He muttered.  
Piper rolled her eyes at him. “You’re not as different as you think you are.” She said.  
He just grumbled but didn’t say anything else.  
She stood up, patting his leg. “Don’t think about ditching this class either. You have already committed to it, and I know where you sleep.” She said sweetly, making him shiver slightly. He forgot how scary she could be when she wanted to be, and that she still could read him like a book.  
“Fine.” He muttered, still looking off to this idea. He knew he was acting a bit like an ass today, but he was just lost in his own thoughts.  
Glancing around the room, he saw everyone getting ready for their first real day of practice.  
Annabeth had some sort of collection of pages and was huddled with Reyna off to the side, going over them while making hand motions that he didn’t quite understand yet.  
Piper had moved over and was talking to Jason, one of her legs crossed behind the others as Percy rolled his eyes at how flirty she was being. He was pretty sure she didn’t even realise it.  
She really had it bad for Jason. He seemed nice, but Percy was a bit glad he was on the same drumline as him so he could learn more about him. If Piper was still going to be there for him when he was being a stubborn ass, he could make sure he was there for her.  
Continuing to look around he saw Frank talking to a girl he didn’t recognize, but he vaguely remembered seeing her head off with Piper for the color guard auditions.  
Ashe was checking her phone, sitting alone as she typed something up. Percy saw Tyler enter, and notice Ashe. He walked over to her, pausing as if he was going to get her attention but was stopping himself.  
Percy winced. He sympathised with the guy, but he really had to just go for it and say hi at least. It was obvious Ashe was interested in him as a friend at least. He started to turn away and Percy wanted to call out for him to man up. They locked eyes and Tyler looked like a deer in the headlights. He glanced at Ashe before back at Percy and started to back away.  
Percy just gave him a thumbs up and motioned his head towards Ashe.  
“Go for it.” He mouthed.  
Tyler seemed to take a deep breath before saying something to Ashe, who looked up surprised. Percy saw her face break out into a massive smile as she stood up, immediately pocketing her phone and starting to talk with him. Percy could practically see the waves of relief wash off the boy at the positive response.  
“Looks like we found the new couple of the year.”  
Piper chimed in from his side again.  
Percy shrugged. “If Tyler can find some confidence. I’ve never seen a guy so clueless before.”  
“You have NO right to talk. You had no idea Rachel liked you your entire freshman year, dude. It was actually painful for me to watch.” Piper said, making Percy recoil. “It wasn’t that bad…”  
Piper laughed. “Please. You thought she actually was just interested in skateboarding because she kept trying to talk to you about it, when she clearly couldn’t have cared less. She was just trying to talk to you. She even had to ask me for help.”  
“Okay! Okay! I get it.” Percy conceded. He may have been a bit dense during his freshman year. But Piper had been there for him when he finally got a clue, and when they eventually went seperate ways.  
Piper nodded. “So let someone else cast the first stone, eh?” She said with a wink. “Besides, he’s learning. Slowly, but he’s getting a clue at least and putting in some effort too. They’ll be inseparable by the first show, I’m calling it now. Dating or not.”  
“You’re probably right.” Percy admitted. Piper usually was.  
“Class! It’s time to begin. We’ll be heading straight out to the field today. The first hour will be marching practice, the rest of class we’ll pass out music and let you start to get with your section. Now then, bring water bottles and sunscreen if you have them and let’s go.” Chiron said, clapping his hands together and starting to usher students out.  
Percy pulled off his hoodie, tossing it to the side and looking in his locker. He didn’t actually have a water bottle. Noticing a can of Monster Energy, he wondered if an energy drink would help or hurt him.  
“Here.”  
Percy turned around to see Annabeth holding out a water bottle, filled with Ice and everything. He took it, surprised. “But…”  
“It’s a spare.” She answered his question before he could ask it.  
“Piper told me you would forget to bring one, and we always makes sure to have spares the first week.Besides, Piper said you’d probably bring an energy drink if you didn’t have a water bottle.”  
Percy’s ears flushed. “I wouldn’t…”  
“So that’s why you have one in your locker?”  
Piper said, opening his locker further and peering in.”  
“Shut up!” He snapped, walking out of the room and ignoring the giggled from the two girls.  
So they were all standing on the football field in a rough block as once again the more experienced folks too positions on the outside.  
“We have a lot of ground to make up if we’re going to be able to perform the first chunk of the show in a month and a half, so until then we’re going to be moving quickly. But don’t worry, mistakes are to be expected, and we’re here for each other. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and seek help outside of class as well. For now though, we’ll go over the basics of marching again then start learning our drill.” Chiron explained.  
They once again ran them through a set of drills. Percy actually was keeping up with them pretty well for the most part at least. While he hadn’t exactly been too eager to practice it, Piper had actually surprised him over the weekend by showing and forcing him to practice for an hour. Saying he’d get less frustrated in class if he didn’t have to struggle to pick everything up at once. Plus she had brought him fast food as a reward, so he decided to listen to her. Mentally, he made a note to thank her later. She really was just looking out for him.  
They went over the basic movements, turns, reverses, the different stances again. Percy had to admit though, keeping proper posture was a little annoying. He admittedly usually had a bit of a slouch, so keeping his chest raised up to make it so he bounced less with each step was difficult.  
“That’s enough for now. Everyone take five and then meet up front again. We’re going to start the drill. Drumline meet with Thalia and Colorguard around Hylla.”  
The class let out a tired chorus of acknowledgement before everyone scattered to the shade.  
Percy walked over to where his water bottle was waiting as he took a swig, collapsing against the bench. Piper came to his side shortly after, smiling at him. “Good job out there.”  
He shrugged. “It’s not too complicated.” Piper scoffed at his bravado but didn’t press things. Sighing and scratching the back of his head, Percy shifted in his seat. “Thank you though. For this weekend. You were right, the practice really did help. I would have been a lot more lost without it.”  
Piper was once again grinning at his side. She looked like she wanted to say something smug, but she took another sip of her drink instead. “No problem.”  
“This next part is going to get more annoying but try to be patient, okay? They have to start organizing the entire band, which is a long process. We’re going to be repeating the same drills a lot while we get things figured out, so just hang in there.” She warned, patting his leg as she stood up, stretching out her back. “At least we don’t have instruments yet. That makes things easier.”  
Percy took her warning to heart and stood up. It seemed that things were about to get even more exhausting.  
“Hey.”  
Piper said, making him turn around. He was holding out her fist and smirking at him. Rolling his eyes, he bumped her fist, before tapping her elbow as they went into their secret handshake. It took about ten seconds to get through all of it, but it always had them laughing by the end of it.  
They finished it, were both laughing as Piper threw her arm over his shoulder and leaned into him for support while she laughed. “We haven’t done that in a while.”  
Annabeth wandered over to them. “I don’t think that’s a part of the new drill.” She teased.  
Percy looked up at her, his cheeks still sore from grinning.  
“It’s an old handshake.”  
Piper just squeezed him slightly. “We made it up back in middle school. Took us weeks. It’s our little tradition.”  
Annabeth was beaming at the both of them. “That’s so cute.”  
“Shut up.”  
“That’s Percy for you.” Piper said, reaching up and messing up his hair. “The cutest guy who won’t admit it.”  
Annabeth’s eyes lit up with laughter as Percy shrugged her off his shoulder. “I regret everything.”  
“Too late.” Piper singsonged as she started to walk over to Hylla.  
“You two really do seem like good friends.” Annabeth offered.  
Percy glanced over at her, before sighing. “Don’t tell her, but she really is the best. I owe her a lot. I know I have some problems now, but I can’t even imagine where I’d be without her. She’s like a sister to me.”  
Annabeth looked like she was holding back another cute comment, but just nodded. “For as long as I’ve known her in band, she usually never went a day without mentioning you either. You two are both lucky. I’m glad you two are here though, good spirits can be infectious in band. Seeing other people smile can make long practices seem just a little bit easier.”  
Chiron blew the whistle and Annabeth waved once as goodbye as she ran off to catch up with Reyna.  
Percy hurried over to where Thalia was as Silena walked up, everyone getting ready.  
“So our process is the same as the rest of them when it comes to learning your marks. We just break it up to make it a little easier to spread the information.For the most part, you’ll stay in the order we start you, unless a specific move calls you to move out of it. From left to right, it’s Clarisse, Silena, Jason, Leo, then Percy for snares. Bass drums, you’ll stay in order of smallest to largest pretty much the entire time. Since we only have two quads, you two don’t have to worry about it as much. But make sure you pay attention, and learn this drill thoroughly. Moving with drums is one of the hardest instruments to march with, because the harness can restrict your movement, the weight will want to throw you off balance, and for bass drums, it actually blocks your vision in front of you. So if you cause problems, or mess up too much, you’re gonna run into each other and trust me, getting a quad to your thigh, or a bass drum to your back sucks ass and will just piss everyone off. So let’s avoid that, kay?”  
“She’s right.” Clarisse threatened, glancing over at the stolls.  
“It’ll happen eventually. But today we don't’ have to worry about that. It’ll be a bit before we start marching our instruments. For now just get the drill down, and help each other out. It’s hard to see from the field, but when you’re up in the stands, spacing errors, really really stand out. I’ll cut you some slack this week, but hurry to get your shit together so we can start looking cool instead of flailing around out there.”  
They all nodded as Thalia put her hand out. Everyone started to put their hands in, but Percy paused. Really? Again?  
Thalia just stared at him, putting on an intense gaze that made Percy flinch. She was scary when she wanted to be.  
He reached in and put his hand on the pile. “You know the drill.”  
“1! 2! 3! DRUMLINE!” They all yelled, and this time Percy put even a little volume to it.  
They all moved back to a corner of the field as Thalia started putting them in spots on the football field, grinning from their enthusiasm still.  
Percy quickly found out how tedious it could be to learn drill. Thalia would give them direction on where to stand, which yard of the football field to stand on. Then they’d run through the spots in a certain number of beats, while Annabeth or Rena counted it off using a loud block and a drumstick.  
Between every repetition they’d yell reset and everyone would rush back to where they started. Jason, Clarisse and some other older folks would yell it out loudly, almost making a game of it as it helped keep spirits up a bit. Percy wasn’t exactly willing to yell, but he was at least vocalizing a response each time.  
Admittedly, he had a little more respect for marching bands now. It was difficult to keep track of all of the different spots he was supposed to march to on the field, how fast he had to make it there, and how to keep proper spacing with anyone next to him. By the end of their time on the field, they had only managed to get a few different spots looking relatively smooth. The sun only felt hotter, and Percy was practically drenched in sweat by the time Chiron was calling them all together.  
They all huddled together in the little pool of shade.  
“Fantastic job today, students. While it’s just the beginning, the fundamentals are starting to form, and with hard work I believe this band can really put on something special. But we can’t get complacent. We haven’t even brought our instruments out yet, and we have a lot of work left to do before we can march and play the instruments together, especially those of you who are trying this for the first time. Now then, let’s head back to the class and we’ll pass out the music.” He as everyone staggered to their feet, still sweaty and exhausted but there was a renewed vigour to everyone. THe idea of finally hearing the music was actually really exciting. Even Percy found himself getting a little eager. He just hoped it would sound cool in the end.  
As they walked back Piper was at his side. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and was currently downing the last of her water. Jason was chatting with Annabeth and Reyna, and all three were laughing at something. Tyler looked like he was dead on his feet from the heat, and Ashe seemed to be trying to encourage and cheer him up.  
Before long they had all shuffled back into the classroom, and a chorus of relief sang out as the air conditioners took mercy on them, cooling them off.  
Percy walked in, laughing at the array of students literally laying on the carpet, basking in the cool air.  
He finished his drink as he looked around for Annabeth. She walked in a moment later and he handed her the bottle back. “Thank you. I might have died without it. I won’t forget it mine again.”  
Annabeth laughed and took it back. “No worries. I was in your shoes my freshman year too. Luke let me borrow his.” He smile faltered for a moment. “But it’s a tradition, so we always keep extra. In the future, though, if you forget yours let us know. Heat stroke isn’t worth being too afraid to ask about a water bottle over.  
Nodding, Percy ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll keep that in mind.”  
He made his way back over to the drumline as Thalia approached with a stack of papers. “Here.” She said, handing out a stapled packet to each person. It was about 5 pages, and looked like sheet music but it was divided into quads, bass drums, and snares. Plus there were weird markings on some of the notes Percy didn’t recognize.  
Apparently his confusion was evident on his face because Thalia chuckled. “Relax, kid. We’ll go over how to read it in a minute. You’re not supposed to understand how to read it the first time you see it. It’s not like normal sheet music.”  
“Good.” Percy said, glad he wasn’t even further behind than he should be.  
“I was gonna say…” Tyler’s voice chimed in. “The melody makes no sense.”  
Thalia laughed again. “Piano players always have that reaction. Your music theory won't help you here.” Tyler looked a little worried and Percy shot him a sympathetic smile. They were both the fish out of water here after all.  
“Alright, I’m going to play the recording of the entire score twice now. Everyone ready?”  
There was a surprisingly loud cheer as everyone turned their attention to where he was, his phone plugged into a speaker system.  
“Now then, Six Wings.”  
There was a brief pause, before the horns kicked in.  
A chill went down Percy’s spine as he listened. It was actually really cool. Six Wings had been a really cool movie, but this sort of orchestral remix of the main theme made the hair on his arms stand on end.  
Immediately different sections started whispering about different parts. After a minute or so, the music slowed down to a softer melody that Percy recognized from the dramatic love confession scene. He didn’t hear any drums for part of it, so he wondered what they would be doing during that time. Would they walk off the field? He had no idea, he had never really bothered to pay attention to how the shows worked more than watching Piper the few times he had seen her perform.  
Then the interlude ended and it kicked back up into a faster theme. The drums kicked back in and even Percy was looking around excited. They sounded honestly pretty sick. Thalia was already tapping out the pattern on her leg. He tried to watch her hands, but he couldn’t keep track of it.  
There was a pause where the music died down and the drums each got a few bars of a solo. The snares were powerful and fast and even had Percy laughing at how cool it sounded. The quads sounded complex and fluid that made Tyler’s face go pale while Frank just patted him on the back, whispering some encouragement to him. A bass drum split sounded awesome but made Charles let out a groan. “That’s going to be impossible.”  
Even Thalia looked a little sympathetic. “We can tweak it if we need to.”  
Then the show finished off with the rest of the band and a big finale.  
The room erupted into cheers and exclamations.  
“That’s so cool!”  
“Did you hear that melody though?”  
“The ending is so fast!”  
“Drums are screwed.”  
“I hope we get to dance during the middle!”  
Chiron, Hylla, and Thalia were all looking around the room like proud parents. It was clear they were soaking up the energy of the students and honestly even Percy was lost in the hype. He was talking to Jason about how they were going to handle the interlude. Apparently they held their sticks down at their side and worried just about marching for a brief bit, potentially some minor dancing depending on the choreography.  
“One last time before you all can fiddle with the music until the end of class. Try to follow along with the music the best you can to get an idea of what’s going on.”  
Jason pointed out the different sections, and what symbols meant a drum roll, and what meant and accent. It was a fast explanation that Percy didn’t quite fully grasp, but it was enough information for following along at least.  
The music started up again and Jason pointed to each bar at first as they went to help them catch the rhythm before he let them follow along on their own.  
Percy could kinda keep track of where they were, see how the notes fell in place, every time they had big accented notes it made him smile. He had a feeling those would be very satisfying to play. As for the rest of it though, he had no idea how the hell he was going to manage playing everything. Still, it sounded awesome. The interlude seemed slow for them, but there were actually some notes he couldn’t hear before.  
The show wrapped up again and everyone was a little more nervous this time as they all started to realize just what they were going to have to play and march to.  
“Now, you can all see that I set a high goal for us this year. But I have confidence that we can reach it. It is just going to take a lot of hard work, patience, and dedication. But most of all, we just need to have a little fun with it. Now then, for the rest of class you can discuss it with your sections. We’ll be alternating days outside marching, and in doors working on the music from here on out, so make sure to practice outside of class when you can. With that, you’re free. Have a wonderful day.”  
He said, earning a chorus of replies as he stepped down.  
The drum section turned back together and they all looked to Jason.  
“We have our work cut out for us, but we also have some chances to shine on the field for sure.” He paused, looking at his sister. “I take it you tweaked this arrangement? There are way too many buzz rolls for this to be someone.”  
She took another sip of her energy drink and shrugged. “You know me so well. Yeah, I tried to tweak it to give us a chance to show off a bit. It’ll be a lot of work, but I plan on kicking your asses into shape before we’re done.” She set down her drink and held up the first page. “So I’ll go over the basics of reading this again so you can practice at home.”  
Percy listened intently to her explanation, feeling a bit eager to start messing around with it at home but he needed to know how to do it right if he was going to.  
He learned the different symbols for buzzing the sticks on the drum, accents, piano vs fortissimo, crescendos. He also learned that in general the sticking was right left right left, unless otherwise noted, and was reminded how important what stick pattern he used was.  
She also went over how each bass drum note was split onto a separate line, which made Percy realize once again he was glad he wasn’t a bass drum. Some of those splits had way too many notes on a bar over too many lines for it to seem even possible for people to do together. But Beckendorf seemed confident, and had the air of a leader who could pull people together to get it done.  
She then finished by explaining how each note related to the drums on a quad and Tyler looked like he wanted to die. Frank patted him on the shoulder and started breaking it down in a way that made it sound a little less scary.  
For the rest of the class, they mostly took a look at the first few bars of playing. They had all grabbed drumsticks and were playing on the back of a chair quietly in the back of the room, as Jason tried to get the snares to just hit in rhythm together. Their results were… questionable. But it was the first time they had tried it since the auditions. Thalia was watching them carefully, not saying a word as she just paid attention to each group. He figured she was taking notes on how to teach them.  
The class ended not long after as they all ended their mini practice. Percy shared a fist bump with Jason.  
“Thanks for the help today. I know it’s not easy teaching us everything.” He offered, still feeling a built guilty that he was on the drumline with pretty much no prior experience.  
He shrugged. “Like I said, it’s cool. We all have to learn sometime. But you’re good, you’ll pick it up fine. As long as you put the practice in, I’m not worried. Plus despite how my sister acts, she’s actually a really good teacher. She’ll make the music fit perfectly for us. The score isn’t set in stone. We can add or change it as needed.”  
Percy nodded, glancing over as he saw Piper approaching.  
“I was just thanking him for showing me the ropes.”  
Piper grinned. “I actually mistook you guys for a real drumline back there practicing for a moment.”  
“Says the group that sat around talking.”  
Piper shrugged. “Hylla said there wasn’t enough time to get started, so we introduced ourselves properly and shared our experience. She says hell begins tomorrow.”  
Thalia rolled her eyes. “Sounds about right. She’s great at what she does but she really needs to get that stick out of her a-”  
“Anyway, I’m sure you guys will knock it out of the park.”  
Jaason interrupted, glaring at his sister.  
“The show sounds super cool though.” Tyler chimed in. “I uh… love Six Wings.” He said, glancing around as if he was looking to see if he was wrong to speak up.  
“Isn’t it the best?” Ashe chimed in, having followed Piper over.  
Tyler turned to her, surprised. “You liked it too?”  
She laughed. “Like it? I’m rereading the third book again.”  
“Aren’t the books amazing though? The movie actually did a good job. But the second book, with the kingdom?”  
Ashe’s eyes lit up. “Right? I heard they confirmed the sequel! I wanna see the Valkyries on the big screen.”  
Tyler nodded as well. “That’d be sick. Especially when they…”  
The pair was off in their own little world now, nerding out over the series as Percy turned his attention back to Piper and Jason who were once again flirting without trying to.  
Walking over to his locker, he grabbed his bag. He figured he should get home with Piper soon.  
Getting his bag together, he headed back over to Piper. They were going to go home together today to study back at his place.Rather, she was coming over to make sure he actually got a headstart on his work this year.  
When Piper saw him standing there, her eyes widened. “Right! Sorry.”  
Percy laughed. “Chill, no rush.”  
Piper moved off to grab her stuff as Percy looked around, waiting.  
Tyler was sitting at the piano again, quietly playing something that sounded a lot like the show and Percy was pretty sure it was the actual theme from the movie, and Ashe was practically leaning into him as he played, engrossed in the music with a massive grin.  
Thalia seemed to be bickering with Hylla, but they both had smiles on. Percy couldn’t tell whether those two actually liked each other or just hated each other.  
Annabeth made her way over. “Good job today! You did well marching for your first day.” She offered with a friendly smile.  
Percy shrugged. “Thalia kept us on course, but thank you. It’s honestly a lot though, and we aren’t even carrying drums yet.”  
Annabeth patted his shoulder sympathetically. “Yeah, I know what you mean. But you’ll get the hang of it. And trust me, you’re not alone. It’s hard to tell from the field, but when you’re up on the stand conducting like I am, you get to see everyone. Every section had plenty of mistakes. But we’ll iron them out. If you ever get lost, just look to me. It’s our job to direct you after all. I can’t show you your spot, but I’ll always be there to keep you on rhythm.”  
Keep an eye on her? He saw her friendly smile again that made his heart flutter a bit and he was pretty sure that wouldn’t be a problem for him.  
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He said, returning her smile.  
Piper joined him at his side and he said goodbye to Annabeth as they headed out to their car.  
As they walked, Percy could see his friends skateboarding across the parking lot. A small frown crept on his face. They were right, in the end. He had changed a bit since joining band. But he was finding it hard to think that it had been for the worse.  
“Are they still bothering you?” Piper asked, glancing sideways at him as they walked.  
He was quiet for a moment as they walked. “I don’t think so. They just… don’t understand band. I’m not sure I do really either. But working on something big like this… something you can’t do on your own is pretty cool. I at least see that now.”  
Piper bumped her hips into his. “Right? I knew you’d come around.”  
He bumped her back. “Don’t push your luck. Let’s go get this stupid homework over with.”  
Piper laughed. “Glad to see some things never change.”  
“The fact I still have to deal with you? That’ll never change.”  
Piper grinned. “That was almost sweet. You really are getting soft.”  
Percy rolled his eyes, but just got in the car. Maybe they weren’t completely wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you're enjoying this story so far! Every comment really helps me stay on track with writing this. If anyone was curious, Six Wings is the name of the story my OC's Ashe and Tyler are from, hence them nerding out over it. I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving! Feel free to leave comments over on my Tumblr too, I respond faster over there.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! I have a lot of ideas and plans for this if it gets any interest!


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